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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · leaves · kid · ball · field · craft · scale · capital

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. craft — boats
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. scale — in music
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. scale — size or range
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — to come from
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. field — a subject
  24. leaves — of a tree

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