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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 120 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: pit · cabinet · file · hand · bat · craft · shower · tube

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. hand — in cards
  6. file — a line of people
  7. pit — in a race
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. shower — rain
  19. hand — help
  20. craft — boats
  21. tube — a container
  22. pit — a hole
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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