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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: wind · current · key · wound · bass · court · cap · craft

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. wound — an injury
  4. craft — boats
  5. cap — a hat
  6. key — the most important part
  7. court — of a king
  8. current — electric
  9. cap — a lid
  10. current — happening now
  11. wound — an injury
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cap — of ice
  15. court — of law
  16. craft — a skill
  17. key — in music
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. current — of water
  22. wind — moving air
  23. court — for sport
  24. bass — low 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