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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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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: nail · kid · deal · file · craft · ground · bat · lean

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. deal — to handle
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. lean — thin
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lean — to bend
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. file — a document
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. ground — crushed
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. ground — the earth
  21. kid — to tease
  22. craft — boats
  23. kid — child
  24. nail — for a hammer

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