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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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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: nail · hand · last · craft · cell · pitcher · rock · court

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. hand — help
  4. rock — a stone
  5. court — for sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. craft — a skill
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. craft — boats
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — final
  12. cell — a phone
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. court — of law
  15. cell — in biology
  16. hand — in cards
  17. court — of a king
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. rock — music
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — finally
  23. nail — for a hammer
  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