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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: fall · craft · swing · wake · spring · kid · ball · row

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. swing — music
  4. kid — child
  5. ball — a great time
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ball — a dance
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. craft — a skill
  12. row — to paddle
  13. fall — the season
  14. swing — to play on
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. spring — of water
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. spring — the season
  20. swing — in golf
  21. row — a line
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — a coil

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