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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: bear · band · spring · row · board · kid · craft · present

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. craft — boats
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. craft — a skill
  7. row — a line
  8. present — a gift
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. present — there
  11. board — to get on
  12. spring — of water
  13. row — to paddle
  14. band — a ring
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. kid — child
  17. bear — the animal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. present — the time now
  20. board — a committee
  21. spring — the season
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bear — the animal
  24. band — a music group

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