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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: field · craft · hand · plane · wound · perch · key · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. hand — in cards
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. craft — boats
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. perch — the fish
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. hand — help
  12. plane — a tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — a subject
  15. wound — an injury
  16. squash — to crush
  17. craft — a skill
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. key — the most important part
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. key — in music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. field — for sport

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