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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: saw · nail · bat · sharp · season · leaves · wake · dip

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. saw — the tool
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — in sport
  7. bat — the animal
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. sharp — clever

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