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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: craft · wax · bat · chest · firm · cold · fork · court

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. craft — a skill
  4. court — of a king
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bat — the animal
  8. court — for sport
  9. wax — to grow
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. firm — a company
  15. craft — boats
  16. cold — an illness
  17. court — of law
  18. firm — decided
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chest — of your body
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. firm — steady

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