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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 · craft · club · lean · squash · trunk · court · content

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. content — the amount
  6. court — of a king
  7. club — for dancing
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. club — for golf
  10. kid — child
  11. court — for sport
  12. content — happy
  13. craft — a skill
  14. lean — thin
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. lean — to bend
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. court — of law
  20. club — a group
  21. craft — boats
  22. squash — to crush
  23. kid — to tease
  24. lean — to rest against

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