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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: straw · ground · chest · craft · bay · march · cell · race

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. cell — in biology
  4. ground — the earth
  5. race — humankind
  6. ground — a position
  7. cell — a phone
  8. march — the month
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. march — the month
  12. ground — crushed
  13. race — the arms race
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. race — a contest
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. craft — a skill
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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