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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. row — a line
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. court — of law
  6. club — for dancing
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. branch — a division
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. scale — in music
  11. row — to paddle
  12. kick — in football
  13. game — wild animals
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. club — for golf
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. court — of a king
  19. scale — size or range
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. court — for sport
  22. game — a match
  23. club — a group
  24. branch — of a tree

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