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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: racket · craft · rock · wound · bat · wake · hand · drill

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. hand — help
  4. drill — the tool
  5. craft — a skill
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hand — in cards
  8. drill — army training
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. wake — a trail
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. drill — a practice
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. craft — boats
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rock — a stone
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bat — the animal
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rock — music
  24. racket — for tennis

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