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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: ball · craft · object · land · net · bat · pop · spring

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. pop — soda
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. object — to protest
  8. craft — a skill
  9. net — in sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. land — ground
  12. pop — to visit
  13. object — a thing
  14. net — for catching
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. object — an aim
  18. land — a country
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. net — after costs
  22. spring — of water
  23. land — to come down
  24. pop — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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