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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ground — the earth
  3. net — for catching
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. craft — a skill
  6. file — a line of people
  7. roll — a cake
  8. net — in sport
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ground — crushed
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. roll — a list
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. net — after costs
  20. bat — the animal
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. ground — a position
  24. craft — boats

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