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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: kid · spring · row · racket · wind · rush · temple · craft

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. kid — child
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. spring — a coil
  8. craft — boats
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — a skill
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. rush — hurry
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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