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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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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: race · fall · hand · kid · craft · net · rock · plane

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. plane — a tool
  3. race — the arms race
  4. net — for catching
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. race — a contest
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. fall — the season
  10. kid — child
  11. net — after costs
  12. craft — boats
  13. net — in sport
  14. rock — music
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. race — humankind
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. craft — a skill
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rock — a stone

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