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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: hand · sharp · present · wake · craft · roll · mouse · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. roll — a cake
  4. sharp — clever
  5. present — a gift
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. hand — in cards
  9. craft — boats
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. present — the time now
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. bat — the animal
  17. present — there
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. hand — help
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. roll — a list

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