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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: wind · craft · snap · bore · fan · kid · row · temple

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. snap — to click
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. row — a line
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. craft — a skill
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. craft — boats
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — child
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — to tire
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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