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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: rash · craft · arm · race · kick · drill · field · saw

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. kick — a thrill
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. drill — a practice
  4. saw — the tool
  5. kick — in football
  6. rash — a series
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. field — a subject
  9. race — humankind
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. saw — the tool
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rash — hasty
  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