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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: cabinet · coach · can · craft · squash · race · fork · bat

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. race — the arms race
  3. craft — boats
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. race — humankind
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. can — a tin
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. craft — a skill
  15. squash — the sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. can — a tin
  24. squash — to crush

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