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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 120 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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. tube — the underground
  3. craft — a skill
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. drill — the tool
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. drill — a practice
  13. spell — letters
  14. drill — army training
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. tube — a container
  19. capital — money
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — the animal
  22. capital — a city
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. pitch — completely

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