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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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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 · stem · last · fine · mark · craft · prune · bat

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. race — humankind
  3. stem — to come from
  4. craft — a skill
  5. prune — to trim
  6. last — final
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. fine — all right
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. mark — a trace
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. race — a contest
  18. last — finally
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. last — to go on
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fine — high quality

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