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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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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: lie · chest · field · craft · wind · ruler · stem · row

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. craft — a skill
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lie — to recline
  7. field — for sport
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. row — to paddle
  13. field — farmland
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. chest — a box
  16. row — a line
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wind — moving air
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. field — a subject
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. craft — boats

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