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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: pitcher · mine · bay · scale · craft · wound · row · staff

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. staff — a stick
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — in music
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. craft — boats
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. staff — employees
  16. wound — an injury
  17. staff — employees
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. row — a line
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. craft — a skill

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