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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 · content · bat · row · rush · craft · trunk · board

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — boats
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a line
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. content — happy
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. hand — help
  19. board — a committee
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. board — to get on
  22. rush — hurry
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rush — to hurry

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