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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: race · cap · craft · fork · wound · net · ground · vault

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cap — a hat
  3. vault — a safe
  4. craft — a skill
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. cap — a lid
  8. net — for catching
  9. race — a contest
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. craft — boats
  12. fork — in a road
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. net — in sport
  15. race — humankind
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ground — a position
  20. cap — of ice
  21. race — the arms race
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. ground — crushed
  24. net — after costs

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