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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: court · land · mark · craft · race · press · tube · spell

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. press — to push
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. land — a country
  5. court — for sport
  6. court — of law
  7. craft — a skill
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. spell — a short time
  12. craft — boats
  13. tube — the underground
  14. land — ground
  15. press — a publisher
  16. land — to come down
  17. spell — magic
  18. mark — a grade
  19. press — newspapers
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. mark — a trace
  22. race — the arms race
  23. court — of a king
  24. spell — letters

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