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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: court · cell · capital · bound · jam · row · craft · chip

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. cell — a phone
  3. craft — boats
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. court — of a king
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. capital — money
  11. bound — obliged
  12. cell — in biology
  13. craft — a skill
  14. court — for sport
  15. row — a line
  16. chip — for betting
  17. capital — a city
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. bound — certain
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. chip — to eat
  23. court — of law
  24. bound — tied together

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