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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. drill — army training
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bank — for money
  6. bass — the fish
  7. drill — the tool
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. drill — a practice
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. craft — a skill
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. hand — in cards
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. craft — boats
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. capital — money
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bass — low music
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. capital — a city

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