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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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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: hand · craft · land · net · bass · court · racket · kid

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bass — the fish
  3. kid — child
  4. hand — in cards
  5. kid — to tease
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. hand — help
  9. craft — boats
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. net — in sport
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. land — a country
  14. net — for catching
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. court — for sport
  17. land — to come down
  18. net — after costs
  19. bass — low music
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. land — ground
  24. racket — a loud noise

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