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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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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: court · craft · spell · row · chip · wind · perch · cap

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  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. spell — magic
  2. perch — the fish
  3. wind — moving air
  4. craft — a skill
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. spell — letters
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chip — for betting
  9. row — a line
  10. court — of law
  11. cap — a lid
  12. chip — to eat
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cap — a hat
  15. court — for sport
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cap — of ice
  18. row — to paddle
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. court — of a king
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wind — moving air
  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