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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 120 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: bat · safe · craft · cold · rest · nail · clip · spring

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rest — a break
  5. spring — a coil
  6. clip — for paper
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. spring — the season
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. bat — the animal
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. spring — of water
  14. craft — boats
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. clip — a video
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — to cut
  24. cold — not warm

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