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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: craft · sharp · foot · pit · land · shower · bat · dip

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. foot — a measure
  4. sharp — clever
  5. land — ground
  6. bat — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. dip — to sink
  11. shower — to wash
  12. land — a country
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. craft — boats
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. craft — a skill
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. pit — a hole
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — rain
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. pit — in a race

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