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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. bat — in an idiom
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. craft — a skill
  5. tube — the underground
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — a container
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. band — a music group
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. file — a tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. file — a document
  23. bat — the animal
  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