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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. current — electric
  7. clip — for paper
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. craft — boats
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. clip — a video
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. saw — the tool
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bat — for baseball

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