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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 116 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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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: pitcher · tear · craft · pop · deal · race · band · bat

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pop — to visit
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — humankind
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. pop — music
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pop — soda
  17. deal — to handle
  18. band — a music group
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. band — a ring

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