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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: spring · patient · rock · mug · craft · race · court · tear

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. rock — music
  3. craft — boats
  4. race — a contest
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spring — a coil
  8. craft — a skill
  9. spring — the season
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. spring — of water
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. mug — a cup
  17. rock — a stone
  18. mug — a face
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. tear — to rip
  21. court — of a king
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mug — to rob

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