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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: lean · spell · bark · craft · bat · present · pop · race

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bark — to shout
  5. race — humankind
  6. spell — a short time
  7. pop — soda
  8. craft — boats
  9. pop — music
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. present — a gift
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. lean — to bend
  14. race — a contest
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pop — to visit
  19. present — the time now
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — there

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