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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: field · chair · kid · fork · object · pound · craft · scale

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. object — to protest
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. field — for sport
  5. craft — a skill
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. scale — in music
  8. pound — a weight
  9. field — a subject
  10. scale — size or range
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fork — in a road
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. object — an aim
  17. craft — boats
  18. kid — child
  19. field — farmland
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. object — a thing
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. chair — a leader

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