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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. craft — a skill
  4. hand — in cards
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. craft — boats
  7. shower — to wash
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. fork — in a road
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. hand — help
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bat — the animal
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kid — child
  21. shower — rain
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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