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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 124 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: craft · mine · roll · bowl · stick · bat · arm · cabinet

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. craft — boats
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bowl — a dish

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