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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: craft · bat · pop · swing · mug · content · wound · nail

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pop — soda
  3. swing — music
  4. mug — a cup
  5. swing — to play on
  6. content — happy
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. craft — boats
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. craft — a skill
  12. content — the amount
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. mug — to rob
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mug — a face
  24. swing — in golf

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