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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: file · land · leaves · stock · craft · march · nail · race

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. land — to come down
  4. march — the month
  5. craft — a skill
  6. stock — goods
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — shares
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. file — a tool
  12. land — a country
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — boats
  17. land — ground
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. race — the arms race

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