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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: kid · saw · bat · wake · nail · object · leaves · pitch

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. pitch — completely
  4. saw — the tool
  5. object — to protest
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kid — to tease
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wake — a trail
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. kid — child
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pitch — a sports field

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