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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 120 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 · bore · spell · bulb · court · bass · rock · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rock — music
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bass — low music
  6. court — for sport
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. court — of law
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. court — of a king
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. band — a music group
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — magic
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spell — letters

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