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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: bowl · pit · race · march · craft · mark · cell · tear

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. craft — a skill
  3. tear — to rip
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. march — the month
  9. mark — a trace
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. tear — from crying
  12. pit — in a race
  13. race — humankind
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. race — a contest
  17. pit — a hole
  18. cell — a phone
  19. craft — boats
  20. march — the month
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. race — the arms race
  23. tear — from crying
  24. march — music

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