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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · bass · craft · band · rest · mug · snap · bat

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bass — the fish
  3. mug — a cup
  4. bat — the animal
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. hand — help
  7. snap — to click
  8. bass — low music
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. craft — boats
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. band — a ring
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mug — a face
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mug — to rob

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