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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.

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: kid · wake · craft · degree · field · ball · bound · stick

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. degree — temperature
  5. kid — child
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. field — for sport
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. field — a subject
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. degree — from a university
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bound — tied together
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. field — farmland
  24. craft — boats

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