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

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. fork — in a road
  3. stem — to come from
  4. spring — the season
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. ground — crushed
  7. last — finally
  8. press — newspapers
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. last — final
  11. press — to push
  12. ground — the earth
  13. band — a music group
  14. ground — a position
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. press — a publisher
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. craft — boats
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. last — to go on
  21. spring — of water
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. spring — a coil

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