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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 120 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 · saw · court · last · band · field · craft · stick

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. race — humankind
  6. last — finally
  7. saw — the tool
  8. band — a ring
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — a subject
  11. craft — a skill
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. saw — the tool
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. court — of law
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. field — for sport
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. court — of a king
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. craft — boats

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