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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: content · row · race · club · craft · hide · bass · prune

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. craft — a skill
  3. club — for golf
  4. race — a contest
  5. club — for dancing
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. craft — boats
  15. content — happy
  16. race — humankind
  17. content — the amount
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bass — low music
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bass — the fish
  22. club — a group
  23. row — a line
  24. race — the arms race

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