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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: race · craft · straw · ruler · field · game · rock · temple

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  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. rock — music
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. race — a contest
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. field — farmland
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. craft — boats
  11. field — a subject
  12. craft — a skill
  13. game — a match
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. race — humankind
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. field — for sport
  20. game — wild animals
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rock — a stone
  23. temple — a place of worship
  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