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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: rock · row · wind · bat · craft · rash · wax · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. wind — moving air
  4. craft — boats
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — the animal
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. court — of law
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. row — a line
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. row — to paddle
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. court — for sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bat — in an idiom

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