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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 · race · bat · root · patient · coach · cabinet · drill

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. race — a contest
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. drill — the tool
  8. craft — a skill
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. drill — army training
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. race — the arms race
  13. craft — boats
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. drill — a practice
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a plant
  19. bat — the animal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. root — of a word
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — humankind
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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