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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: craft · game · hand · ground · race · trunk · patient · fine

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. fine — high quality
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. ground — the earth
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. race — humankind
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — help
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fine — all right
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. craft — a skill
  18. hand — in cards
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. ground — a position
  21. race — a contest
  22. craft — boats
  23. ground — crushed
  24. game — a match

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