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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: bass · craft · mug · board · rash · cold · bat · pitch

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. cold — an illness
  3. craft — boats
  4. bass — low music
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pitch — completely
  8. board — a committee
  9. mug — a cup
  10. mug — a face
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. craft — a skill
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cold — not warm
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. board — to get on
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rash — a series
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bass — the instrument

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