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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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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: craft · mark · last · kid · racket · spring · object · bore

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. spring — the season
  3. craft — boats
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. mark — a trace
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. last — final
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — an aim
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bore — to drill
  13. kid — child
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. last — finally
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. bore — to tire
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. mark — a grade
  22. kid — to tease
  23. last — to go on
  24. spring — of water

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