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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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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: cap · tear · snap · bat · wind · craft · current · wound

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — boats
  11. wind — moving air
  12. current — of water
  13. cap — of ice
  14. snap — to click
  15. current — electric
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — an injury
  18. current — happening now
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — a skill
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cap — a hat

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