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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · bat · bark · craft · prune · net · current · trunk

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. current — electric
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. craft — a skill
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — happening now
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. prune — to trim
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cold — an illness
  15. net — in sport
  16. craft — boats
  17. prune — to trim
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bat — the animal
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. current — of water
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. cold — not warm

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