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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: racket · chair · season · band · craft · degree · pound · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. craft — a skill
  3. band — a ring
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. field — a subject
  7. craft — boats
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. degree — from a university
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pound — a weight
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. field — for sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. band — a music group
  18. chair — a leader
  19. degree — temperature
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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