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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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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: wind · band · bat · firm · net · stock · mate · craft

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — boats
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. band — a music group
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wind — moving air
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. net — for catching
  13. craft — a skill
  14. net — in sport
  15. firm — steady
  16. band — a ring
  17. firm — a company
  18. net — after costs
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. mate — a friend
  21. firm — decided
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — to breed
  24. wind — to turn a key

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