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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · craft · face · race · spring · scale · kick · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. race — the arms race
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. scale — size or range
  5. kick — in football
  6. hand — in cards
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — a country
  9. craft — boats
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. race — a contest
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. spring — of water
  17. face — to point toward
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. face — part of the head
  20. spring — a coil
  21. face — to confront
  22. race — humankind
  23. spring — the season
  24. craft — a skill

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