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

Word bank: squash · last · hand · saw · bat · nail · stick · track

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. last — final
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. last — to go on
  10. hand — in cards
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. hand — help
  14. track — to keep track
  15. squash — to crush
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. saw — the tool
  18. track — a song
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. track — a path
  22. last — finally
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bat — for baseball

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