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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 120 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: craft · bore · cue · bat · club · wind · ball · wax

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cue — for pool
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. club — for golf
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — a skill
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cue — a signal
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. craft — boats
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. wax — in the ear

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