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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: toast · race · wound · row · mate · craft · plane · court

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. race — a contest
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. court — of law
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. toast — bread
  7. mate — to breed
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. plane — a tool
  10. craft — boats
  11. court — of a king
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. race — humankind
  16. court — for sport
  17. row — a line
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. mate — a partner
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mate — a friend
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com