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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. last — finally
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. band — a music group
  10. last — to go on
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pop — music
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. chest — of your body
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pop — to visit
  17. last — final
  18. band — a ring
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pop — soda
  21. chest — a box
  22. craft — boats
  23. chest — of your body
  24. craft — a handicraft

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