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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: cue · clip · craft · wound · cap · hand · bat · shower

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hand — help
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. cue — for pool
  11. shower — rain
  12. cap — of ice
  13. clip — a video
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cue — a hint
  16. craft — boats
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cap — a lid
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cue — a signal
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wound — an injury
  24. craft — a skill

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