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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: bore · craft · fall · squash · branch · march · fan · race

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. march — the month
  3. race — humankind
  4. march — the month
  5. craft — boats
  6. branch — a division
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. craft — a skill
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. bore — to tire
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. fall — to drop
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. race — the arms race
  17. fall — the season
  18. bore — to drill
  19. squash — to crush
  20. race — a contest
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. march — music

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