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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: lean · drill · craft · wound · hand · object · mate · bass

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bass — low music
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bass — the fish
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. object — a thing
  11. lean — thin
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. wound — an injury
  14. object — an aim
  15. drill — a practice
  16. mate — to breed
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. craft — a skill
  19. mate — a partner
  20. object — to protest
  21. craft — boats
  22. hand — help
  23. drill — army training
  24. bass — the instrument

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