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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: craft · lie · row · squash · court · field · ground · stem

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. ground — a position
  3. row — a line
  4. craft — boats
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. field — a subject
  7. squash — the sport
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. field — farmland
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. ground — crushed
  12. craft — a skill
  13. row — to paddle
  14. court — for sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stem — to come from
  19. ground — the earth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. field — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. court — of a king

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