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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: march · court · craft · temple · band · wind · root · kick

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. court — of a king
  3. march — the month
  4. craft — a skill
  5. root — the cause
  6. band — a music group
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wind — moving air
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. craft — boats
  11. court — for sport
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. court — of law
  15. march — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. band — a ring
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. root — of a plant
  21. root — of a word
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. band — a rubber band

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