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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.

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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: craft · wind · field · stick · bowl · chest

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. field — a subject
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. chest — a box
  6. field — for sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wind — moving air
  10. craft — boats
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. craft — a skill
  18. field — farmland

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