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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: row · court · craft · kid · board · temple · jam · wake

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. row — a line
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wake — a trail
  7. board — a committee
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. kid — child
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. board — to get on
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. craft — a skill
  17. court — of a king
  18. craft — boats
  19. row — to paddle
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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