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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: wound · scale · roll · craft · wax · ball · net · field

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. net — in sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. ball — a great time
  5. field — for sport
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. roll — a cake
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. scale — in music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. net — for catching
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. ball — a dance
  23. net — after costs
  24. roll — a list

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