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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 116 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: rock · bass · craft · shower · straw · spring · wake · cabinet

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. spring — the season
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bass — low music
  5. shower — to wash
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. rock — music
  8. craft — a skill
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. shower — rain
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bass — the fish
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. spring — of water
  21. craft — boats
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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