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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: craft · field · nail · game · bowl · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. game — wild animals
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. degree — an amount
  5. field — farmland
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — boats
  9. field — for sport
  10. game — a match
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. field — a subject
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. bowl — a football final

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