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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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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: cell · wound · field · craft · court · chest · cabinet · wind

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. field — a subject
  3. cell — in biology
  4. craft — boats
  5. court — for sport
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. court — of law
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. field — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. craft — a skill
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cell — a phone
  24. field — farmland

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