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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: nail · craft · kid · wake · current · hand · row · bass

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — to paddle
  4. wake — a trail
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bass — the fish
  7. kid — child
  8. current — happening now
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. current — electric
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. craft — boats
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kid — to tease
  20. hand — in cards
  21. row — a line
  22. bass — low music
  23. current — of water
  24. hand — part of the body

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