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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: stem · sharp · tear · craft · race · date · roll · wake

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. craft — boats
  4. wake — a trail
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. race — the arms race
  8. tear — from crying
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stem — to come from
  11. sharp — clever
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. tear — from crying
  17. craft — a skill
  18. tear — to rip
  19. roll — a list
  20. race — humankind
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. roll — a cake
  24. roll — on a roll

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