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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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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: band · fall · court · craft · face · stick · race · spring

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. spring — a coil
  3. race — humankind
  4. band — a music group
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. face — to point toward
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. court — of a king
  11. race — a contest
  12. spring — the season
  13. court — for sport
  14. face — to confront
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fall — the season
  19. craft — boats
  20. court — of law
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. craft — a skill
  23. spring — of water
  24. face — part of the head

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