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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: dip · wind · kid · row · craft · mate

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. craft — boats
  3. wind — moving air
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mate — a friend
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. row — a line
  9. mate — to breed
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. craft — a skill
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wind — moving air
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mate — a partner
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — to turn a key

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