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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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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: ruler · cold · firm · field · craft · racket · kid · tube

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. craft — boats
  3. tube — the underground
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. kid — child
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. field — a subject
  13. tube — a container
  14. craft — a skill
  15. kid — to tease
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. firm — decided
  21. firm — a company
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. firm — steady

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