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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · bat · file · pop · craft · pit · row · pound

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. row — to paddle
  3. pound — a weight
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. pop — soda
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. file — a document
  11. row — a line
  12. pop — music
  13. file — a line of people
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — boats
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hand — help
  19. pop — to visit
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pit — in a race
  22. file — a tool
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pit — a hole

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