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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: bass · shower · stock · bat · craft · kick · bulb · scale

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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 — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. bat — the animal
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bass — low music
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. shower — rain
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. stock — goods
  16. kick — in football
  17. stock — shares
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  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