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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: bat · nail · current · mine · row · hand · wax · pound

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hand — help
  3. row — a line
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. row — to paddle
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mine — for digging
  15. current — happening now
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. hand — in cards
  19. current — electric
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wax — to grow
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. current — of water

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