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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: sharp · tube · chest · mouse · craft · wind · pitcher · net

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. net — after costs
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. net — in sport
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — for catching
  9. craft — a skill
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. craft — boats
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. tube — a container
  24. craft — a handicraft

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