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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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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: race · present · stock · fall · rash · craft · trunk · pitch

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pitch — completely
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — humankind
  11. craft — a skill
  12. craft — boats
  13. stock — shares
  14. present — a gift
  15. fall — to drop
  16. stock — goods
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — there
  22. race — the arms race
  23. present — the time now
  24. rash — a series

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