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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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. band — a ring
  10. tube — the underground
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. craft — boats
  15. bat — the animal
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. band — a music group
  23. tube — a container
  24. fan — to cool the air

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