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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · row · current · spell · bass · trunk · mine · racket

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. current — of water
  3. spell — letters
  4. row — to paddle
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. spell — magic
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bass — the fish
  10. current — electric
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bass — low music
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. kid — child
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. current — happening now
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. row — a line
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kid — to tease
  24. row — a quarrel

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