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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: craft · chest · rash · wax · pound · racket · bank · cold

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chest — a box
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cold — not warm
  6. pound — a weight
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bank — for money
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. bank — for money
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. bank — of a river
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. craft — a skill
  24. cold — the Cold War

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