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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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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: row · vault · pound · kid · field · craft

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. pound — a weight
  7. field — for sport
  8. kid — child
  9. vault — a safe
  10. kid — to tease
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. craft — boats
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. row — a line
  16. field — a subject
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. row — to paddle

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