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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: tear · craft · wound · toast · race · ball · present · rest

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. ball — a dance
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wound — an injury
  11. race — humankind
  12. rest — a break
  13. rest — what's left
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. tear — from crying
  16. craft — boats
  17. craft — a skill
  18. present — there
  19. present — a gift
  20. rest — what's left
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. present — the time now
  24. toast — the most admired

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