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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: pound · mine · bat · foot · band · craft · drill · ground

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pound — a weight
  3. craft — a skill
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. craft — boats
  6. ground — the earth
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. foot — a measure
  10. drill — army training
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. band — a ring
  14. drill — the tool
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. ground — crushed
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — the animal
  20. drill — a practice
  21. ground — a position
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. mine — for digging
  24. band — a music group

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