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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: craft · roll · hand · wax · bass · current · stock · pitcher

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. craft — a skill
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bass — the fish
  5. craft — boats
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stock — goods
  12. current — electric
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. roll — a list
  15. stock — shares
  16. current — of water
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. hand — help
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. current — happening now
  23. bass — low music
  24. pitcher — a jug

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