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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: band · leaves · wind · craft · kick · wake · scale · court

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. scale — in music
  6. band — a music group
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. kick — in football
  11. court — of a king
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. band — a ring
  14. court — for sport
  15. wind — moving air
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. court — of law
  20. wake — a trail
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. leaves — of a tree

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