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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: shower · field · ball · craft · race · lie · fall · bear

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. fall — to drop
  3. race — humankind
  4. race — a contest
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. shower — rain
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bear — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. ball — a great time
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. craft — boats
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. bear — the animal
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. field — for sport
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. shower — to wash
  24. field — farmland

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