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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: fall · craft · shower · snap · chest · race · root · kick

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — the cause
  4. chest — a box
  5. craft — a skill
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. race — the arms race
  9. shower — rain
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. root — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. root — of a word
  17. fall — to drop
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — the season
  23. shower — to wash
  24. craft — a handicraft

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