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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: cold · craft · temple · kick · band · game · row · firm

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. cold — not warm
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. row — to paddle
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. firm — a company
  9. game — wild animals
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. firm — steady
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. kick — in football
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. row — a line
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a music group
  24. firm — decided

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