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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: hide · last · swing · roll · mate · craft · bass · land

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. roll — a cake
  3. swing — to play on
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bass — the fish
  6. last — to go on
  7. land — ground
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. last — final
  10. craft — a skill
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mate — a friend
  13. swing — music
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. roll — a list
  17. land — to come down
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. last — finally
  20. mate — to breed
  21. swing — in golf
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bass — low music
  24. land — a country

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