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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: craft · fan · chest · ball · field · band · lean · kid

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. lean — to bend
  17. kid — child
  18. lean — thin
  19. field — a subject
  20. chest — of your body
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. chest — a box
  23. kid — to tease
  24. band — a rubber band

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