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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: game · craft · stem · last · race · bulb · lash · bat

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. game — a match
  3. bulb — for light
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. game — wild animals
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stem — to come from
  9. last — final
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bat — the animal
  16. race — a contest
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. last — finally
  20. race — humankind
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. last — to go on

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