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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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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: hand · bat · pound · saw · cabinet · cap · march · nail

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. saw — the tool
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. pound — a weight
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cap — of ice
  14. march — the month
  15. bat — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. hand — in cards
  20. saw — the tool
  21. march — music
  22. hand — help
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cabinet — ministers

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