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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 116 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: field · root · racket · staff · wind · craft · row · fork

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. wind — moving air
  3. staff — employees
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. field — for sport
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. staff — employees
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — boats
  12. root — of a plant
  13. staff — a stick
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — farmland
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. craft — a skill
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. field — a subject
  23. fork — in a road
  24. wind — moving air

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