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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: band · court · file · board · tear · trunk · temple · craft

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. board — a committee
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. file — a line of people
  8. band — a music group
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. craft — boats
  14. court — of law
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. tear — to rip
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. board — to get on
  20. file — a tool
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tear — from crying
  23. file — a document
  24. tear — from crying

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