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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. craft — a skill
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. season — of the year
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. field — farmland
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wake — a trail
  12. field — a subject
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. season — in sport
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. field — for sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. deal — to handle
  21. stem — to come from
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. spring — of water

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