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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: ground · chip · field · scale · craft · squash · wound · kid

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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. ground — a position
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. wound — an injury
  5. squash — to crush
  6. scale — size or range
  7. squash — the sport
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. field — for sport
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. chip — for betting
  13. kid — to tease
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. kid — child
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chip — to eat
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. field — a subject
  22. craft — a skill
  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