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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.

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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: safe · pass · hand · current · bat · craft · mine · field

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. craft — boats
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pass — a permit
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. current — electric
  10. craft — a skill
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. field — for sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. field — a subject
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. field — farmland
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — of water

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