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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: race · season · fall · hand · chair · wake · craft · nail

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. race — humankind
  6. season — in sport
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. hand — help
  9. craft — boats
  10. race — the arms race
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. craft — a skill
  16. race — a contest
  17. hand — in cards
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. wake — a trail
  23. season — of the year
  24. chair — a leader

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