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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · craft · shower · file · cell · kick · scale · field

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  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. file — a line of people
  2. field — for sport
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. cell — in biology
  7. game — a match
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. shower — rain
  10. craft — boats
  11. scale — in music
  12. field — farmland
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a document
  15. craft — a skill
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — a phone
  18. shower — to wash
  19. scale — size or range
  20. game — wild animals
  21. field — a subject
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kick — in football
  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