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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: field · mouse · sharp · cap · wind · craft · staff · land

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. staff — employees
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. cap — of ice
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. land — ground
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. field — a subject
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. craft — a skill
  13. staff — a stick
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — clever
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. wind — moving air
  22. craft — boats
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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