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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · nail · field · degree · plane · staff · ground · craft

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — a subject
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. staff — employees
  6. ground — crushed
  7. degree — temperature
  8. ground — the earth
  9. field — farmland
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. march — the month
  12. craft — boats
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. degree — from a university
  15. staff — employees
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. staff — a stick
  18. craft — a skill
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. degree — an amount
  21. march — music
  22. field — for sport
  23. plane — a tool
  24. ground — a position

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