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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. craft — a skill
  3. wind — moving air
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. branch — a division
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. pound — a weight
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. roll — a cake
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. roll — a list
  22. craft — boats
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — hasty

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