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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: current · scale · fan · field · clip · game · wind · craft

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. clip — to cut
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — wild animals
  6. craft — a skill
  7. field — for sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. field — farmland
  10. current — happening now
  11. craft — boats
  12. game — a match
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wind — moving air
  15. current — of water
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wind — moving air
  21. current — electric
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. clip — for paper

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