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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: staff · chest · field · wake · craft · safe · clip · fork

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. clip — to cut
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — of your body
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. staff — employees
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. craft — a skill
  15. craft — boats
  16. fork — in a road
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. clip — a video
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — for sport
  23. staff — a stick
  24. wake — before a funeral

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