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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: field · clip · pound · safe · band · craft · squash · cell

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. band — a music group
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cell — in biology
  7. squash — the sport
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. band — a ring
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cell — a phone
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. craft — boats
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. clip — for paper
  20. field — a subject
  21. clip — a video
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. pound — for dogs

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