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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 116 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: bore · rash · court · craft · lean · drill · kid · squash

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  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. bore — to tire
  2. court — of law
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. craft — boats
  5. bore — to drill
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. craft — a skill
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rash — hasty
  13. court — of a king
  14. lean — to bend
  15. court — for sport
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. rash — a series
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. lean — thin
  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