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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: pop · court · bat · prune · bass · wound · lash · craft

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. craft — a skill
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bass — low music
  7. prune — to trim
  8. court — for sport
  9. pop — to visit
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pop — music
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pop — soda
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. court — of a king
  19. craft — boats
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. craft — a handicraft

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