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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: wave · current · craft · straw · cell · row

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. craft — a skill
  5. current — electric
  6. current — of water
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. current — happening now
  18. cell — a phone

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