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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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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: toast · fall · wave · race · ground · tear · craft · tube

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tear — from crying
  6. toast — bread
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. fall — the season
  9. tear — to rip
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. ground — a position
  12. tube — a container
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fall — to drop
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. race — humankind
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. tube — the underground
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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