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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 · court · field · foot · roll · bound · clip · net

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. craft — boats
  4. net — after costs
  5. court — for sport
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. clip — to cut
  8. court — of a king
  9. foot — a measure
  10. clip — for paper
  11. field — for sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. court — of law
  14. field — farmland
  15. roll — a list
  16. net — in sport
  17. bound — certain
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. net — for catching
  20. field — a subject
  21. craft — a skill
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. roll — a cake

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