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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: field · hand · squash · mouse · ground · craft · swing · band

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. field — farmland
  4. band — a music group
  5. ground — the earth
  6. squash — to crush
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. hand — in cards
  9. field — for sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. field — a subject
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. craft — boats
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. hand — help
  18. craft — a skill
  19. ground — crushed
  20. squash — the sport
  21. ground — a position
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. swing — to play on

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