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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: kid · current · craft · bass · roll · march · spell · bat

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. kid — child
  4. bat — the animal
  5. march — the month
  6. craft — boats
  7. roll — a list
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. kid — to tease
  10. current — happening now
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. march — music
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. march — the month
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. roll — a cake
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spell — a short time
  22. bass — the fish
  23. craft — a skill
  24. bass — low music

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