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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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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 · face · patient · scale · tear · pound · roll · bat

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. face — to point toward
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bat — the animal
  8. craft — boats
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. face — part of the head
  13. tear — from crying
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pound — a weight
  16. roll — a list
  17. tear — to rip
  18. craft — a skill
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. scale — in music
  23. roll — a cake
  24. face — to confront

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