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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 116 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
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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: craft · spring · field · pit · wound · race · scale · fan

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — in a race
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. race — a contest
  6. field — farmland
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. spring — of water
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. spring — the season
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. spring — a coil
  14. field — for sport
  15. scale — in music
  16. craft — boats
  17. scale — size or range
  18. field — a subject
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pit — a hole
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wound — an injury

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