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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: wind · race · march · craft · season · calf · last · saw

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. last — to go on
  3. race — the arms race
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wind — moving air
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. race — humankind
  13. craft — boats
  14. last — finally
  15. march — the month
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. season — in sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. race — a contest
  22. last — final
  23. craft — a skill
  24. season — of the year

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