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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: craft · rest · bore · scale · bat · ground · net · file

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — size or range
  8. ground — the earth
  9. craft — a skill
  10. net — after costs
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. net — for catching
  14. bore — to drill
  15. net — in sport
  16. ground — a position
  17. scale — in music
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bore — to tire
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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