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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 · court · race · clip · scale · nail · stem · press

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. stem — to come from
  6. race — the arms race
  7. clip — for paper
  8. race — a contest
  9. press — to push
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. race — humankind
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. clip — a video
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. press — newspapers
  16. scale — size or range
  17. press — a publisher
  18. clip — to cut
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. scale — in music
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — boats

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