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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: pop · bass · net · current · bat · kid · trunk · field

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — soda
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. current — electric
  9. field — a subject
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. current — of water
  12. field — farmland
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. kid — to tease
  16. net — after costs
  17. current — happening now
  18. bass — low music
  19. kid — child
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. net — for catching
  22. bat — the animal
  23. net — in sport
  24. pop — music

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