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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 · ball · current · kid · tube · hand · capital · firm

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. craft — a skill
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — electric
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. current — of water
  7. firm — a company
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. hand — in cards
  11. kid — child
  12. capital — money
  13. craft — boats
  14. tube — the underground
  15. kid — to tease
  16. firm — steady
  17. ball — a dance
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. hand — help
  21. tube — a container
  22. firm — decided
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a round shape

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