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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: land · bat · craft · chair · tear · staff · lean · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. craft — boats
  3. land — a country
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. staff — a stick
  12. land — ground
  13. lean — to bend
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. land — to come down
  17. chair — a leader
  18. tear — to rip
  19. staff — employees
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. craft — a skill
  23. lean — thin
  24. tear — from crying

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