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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: present · craft · squash · land · key · rush · drill · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rush — hurry
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. field — farmland
  6. land — ground
  7. squash — the sport
  8. land — to come down
  9. present — there
  10. drill — the tool
  11. drill — a practice
  12. land — a country
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. key — the most important part
  15. squash — to crush
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. craft — boats
  18. drill — army training
  19. present — the time now
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. craft — a skill
  22. present — a gift
  23. key — in music
  24. field — for sport

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