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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: leaves · craft · kid · land · fan · swing · court · wind

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. court — of a king
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. court — of law
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. land — ground
  10. land — to come down
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. swing — music
  14. land — a country
  15. swing — to play on
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. court — for sport
  19. swing — in golf
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fan — to cool the air

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