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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 · rest · craft · bore · cell · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. rest — a break
  3. craft — boats
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. kid — to tease
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. kid — child
  9. bore — to tire
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — what's left
  12. row — to paddle
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bore — to drill

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