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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: craft · fine · hand · field · staff · wake · foot · scale

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — a stick
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. craft — a skill
  5. foot — a measure
  6. craft — boats
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. staff — employees
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. field — a subject
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fine — all right
  13. field — for sport
  14. wake — a trail
  15. staff — employees
  16. scale — in music
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. fine — high quality
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. hand — help
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. hand — in cards

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