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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: rock · content · wind · stem · spell · club · craft · field

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rock — music
  6. craft — a skill
  7. field — a subject
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. club — for golf
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. content — happy
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. content — the amount
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. field — farmland
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. club — for dancing
  22. rock — a stone
  23. field — for sport
  24. craft — boats

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