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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: wake · wind · tube · bear · kick · court · craft · chair

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. court — of law
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. craft — boats
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. kick — in football
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wind — moving air
  12. court — of a king
  13. tube — the underground
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bear — the animal
  17. tube — a container
  18. court — for sport
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bear — the animal
  24. craft — a handicraft

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