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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · chest · bowl · calf · craft · content · hand · band

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. band — a music group
  5. content — the amount
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. content — happy
  8. court — of a king
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. hand — help
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. court — for sport
  16. craft — boats
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. chest — of your body
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hand — in cards
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. court — of law
  24. craft — a skill

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