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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mark — a trace
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — boats
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. rock — music
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. mark — a grade
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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