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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: mouse · fan · kid · chair · craft · pop · cold · board

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pop — to visit
  7. kid — child
  8. craft — boats
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. board — to get on
  13. pop — soda
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pop — music
  17. chair — a leader
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. board — a committee
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. craft — a skill
  24. cold — the Cold War

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