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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: nail · fork · pound · coach · wound · tube · craft · hand

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. tube — the underground
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pound — a weight
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hand — help
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. hand — in cards
  16. craft — a skill
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wound — an injury
  19. craft — boats
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. tube — a container

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