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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: row · chest · present · clip · field · ruler · craft · ground

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. row — a line
  3. ground — a position
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. field — for sport
  10. ground — crushed
  11. field — farmland
  12. craft — a skill
  13. field — a subject
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. clip — for paper
  18. present — there
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — a gift
  23. row — to paddle
  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