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

Word bank: tear · kid · craft · chair · roll · key

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. craft — a skill
  3. roll — a list
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. tear — to rip
  12. roll — a cake
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. key — for a lock
  15. tear — from crying
  16. craft — boats
  17. key — in music
  18. key — the most important part

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