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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 116 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: game · court · cell · march · race · straw · drill · craft

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cell — a phone
  3. race — the arms race
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. race — humankind
  6. march — the month
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. drill — a practice
  14. court — of a king
  15. race — a contest
  16. game — wild animals
  17. cell — in biology
  18. craft — boats
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. game — a match
  22. march — music
  23. craft — a skill
  24. march — the month

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