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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.

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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: field · craft · fan · ball · bowl · cell · clip · degree

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. clip — to cut
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. field — a subject
  7. cell — in biology
  8. ball — a dance
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. craft — a skill
  24. field — farmland

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