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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: craft · nail · sharp · last · race · wound · lean · club

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. last — to go on
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. craft — boats
  7. last — finally
  8. last — final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. club — a group
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. club — for golf
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. craft — a skill
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. club — for dancing
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. race — the arms race
  24. race — humankind

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