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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 120 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: cold · spell · cabinet · ball · pound · leaves · craft · race

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. spell — letters
  4. pound — a weight
  5. craft — boats
  6. cold — an illness
  7. race — the arms race
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. ball — a great time
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. spell — magic
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. ball — a dance
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. craft — a skill

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