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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: kid · chip · pitcher · craft · wind · rest · field · pound

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rest — what's left
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. rest — what's left
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. craft — a skill
  16. pound — a weight
  17. chip — to eat
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. rest — a break
  22. chip — for betting
  23. craft — boats
  24. kid — child

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