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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 116 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: bat · bass · craft · rock · spring · squash · current · wind

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  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. rock — music
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. craft — boats
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — happening now
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bat — the animal
  12. current — electric
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. current — of water
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. squash — to crush
  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