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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: scale · racket · craft · game · wind · file · row · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. 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. hand — help
  2. game — a match
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hand — in cards
  5. row — to paddle
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. game — wild animals
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. scale — in music
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. file — a tool
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — a line
  15. wind — moving air
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. scale — size or range
  18. file — a document
  19. craft — boats
  20. file — a line of people
  21. craft — a skill
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. 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