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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 116 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: snap · spring · bowl · mine · stick · present · craft · bass

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. craft — boats
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. present — a gift
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. snap — to click
  8. craft — a skill
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. spring — a coil
  13. present — the time now
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mine — for digging
  18. present — there
  19. spring — of water
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. bass — low music
  22. spring — the season
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bass — the fish

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