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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: craft · bark · object · fall · bat · kid · bay · hand

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kid — child
  5. fall — to drop
  6. hand — help
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. object — to protest
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. object — a thing
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bat — the animal
  16. craft — boats
  17. bark — to shout
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. object — an aim
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. craft — a handicraft

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