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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: shower · cold · foot · craft · racket · mark · sharp · bat

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. craft — a skill
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mark — a grade
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mark — a trace
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cold — an illness
  17. craft — boats
  18. foot — a measure
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. sharp — clever
  21. shower — rain
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. shower — to wash
  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