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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — the season
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mark — a grade
  8. sharp — clever
  9. staff — a stick
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wound — an injury
  12. spring — of water
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stem — to come from
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. staff — employees
  24. mark — a trace

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