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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: mine · field · racket · wind · squash · craft · last · stem

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. craft — boats
  9. field — a subject
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. field — for sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. last — to go on
  14. stem — to come from
  15. last — final
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. field — farmland
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. craft — a skill
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. last — finally
  24. craft — a handicraft

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