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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 116 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. row — a line
  3. stem — to come from
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. band — a music group
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chair — a leader
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. row — to paddle
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — of water
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. craft — boats
  24. spring — the season

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