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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. lean — thin
  4. craft — a skill
  5. band — a ring
  6. row — a line
  7. bank — of a river
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. bat — the animal
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. craft — boats
  12. row — to paddle
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. court — of a king
  18. bank — for money
  19. band — a music group
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. hand — help
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bank — for money

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