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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: date · net · bat · craft · hand · current · mate · wax

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. net — after costs
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. craft — a skill
  5. mate — to breed
  6. hand — in cards
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bat — the animal
  9. craft — boats
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. current — happening now
  13. hand — help
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. mate — a partner
  16. current — of water
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wax — to grow
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bat — for baseball

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