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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: can · last · cap · craft · mine · bat · rash · drill

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. craft — boats
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cap — a lid
  5. drill — a practice
  6. last — final
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rash — a series
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cap — of ice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cap — a hat
  17. can — a tin
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. drill — army training
  20. last — finally
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. can — to be able to
  23. last — to go on
  24. can — a tin

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