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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: nail · bound · fall · degree · craft · content · field · march

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. field — a subject
  4. fall — to drop
  5. craft — a skill
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bound — certain
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. content — the amount
  11. bound — obliged
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bound — tied together
  15. field — for sport
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. craft — boats
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. field — farmland
  22. content — happy
  23. march — music
  24. content — videos and posts

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