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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: kid · field · pit · bass · content · craft · foot · shower

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pit — a hole
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. foot — a measure
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bass — low music
  16. content — the amount
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bass — the fish
  19. kid — child
  20. content — happy
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a handicraft

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