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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. game — wild animals
  3. fork — in a road
  4. craft — a skill
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. saw — the tool
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. deal — to handle
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. game — a match
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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