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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: board · craft · kid · content · leaves · roll · band · cold

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. cold — an illness
  3. kid — to tease
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. roll — a cake
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. board — a committee
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. kid — child
  19. craft — a skill
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a list
  22. cold — not warm
  23. board — to get on
  24. craft — boats

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