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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 120 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: row · craft · kick · wind · content · bore

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wind — moving air
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. kick — in football
  7. row — to paddle
  8. craft — a skill
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bore — to tire
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. craft — boats
  14. bore — to drill
  15. row — a line
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — gave birth

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