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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: fall · squash · roll · field · craft · wake · foot · ground

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. field — a subject
  5. craft — a skill
  6. squash — to crush
  7. craft — boats
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. roll — a cake
  10. field — for sport
  11. ground — the earth
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — a position
  14. field — farmland
  15. roll — a list
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. foot — a measure
  18. fall — the season
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. fall — to drop
  23. ground — crushed
  24. wake — a trail

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