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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. craft — a skill
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — final
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — an aim
  7. track — a song
  8. last — to go on
  9. court — of a king
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. court — for sport
  13. craft — boats
  14. court — of law
  15. drill — the tool
  16. track — a path
  17. drill — army training
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. track — to keep track
  21. last — finally
  22. drill — a practice
  23. object — to protest
  24. pitcher — a jug

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