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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 · pitcher · chip · swing · nail · mine · craft · degree

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. swing — in golf
  5. hand — help
  6. craft — a skill
  7. swing — to play on
  8. craft — boats
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. degree — temperature
  14. swing — music
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. degree — from a university
  17. degree — an amount
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. chip — to eat
  20. chip — for betting
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. mine — for digging
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. hand — in cards

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