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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · kid · current · mark · nail · saw · bass · race

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. kid — to tease
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bass — low music
  6. mark — a trace
  7. race — a contest
  8. saw — the tool
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bass — the fish
  11. race — humankind
  12. current — electric
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. current — happening now
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. current — of water
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mark — a grade
  23. kid — child
  24. race — the arms 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