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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: deal · chair · row · bat · nail · mine · craft · bay

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bat — the animal
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. deal — to handle
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. row — a line
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. craft — a skill
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. mine — belonging to me

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