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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bass — low music
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. last — final
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cold — not warm
  11. last — to go on
  12. cold — an illness
  13. press — newspapers
  14. craft — boats
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. press — a publisher
  19. press — to push
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stem — to come from
  22. bass — the fish
  23. last — finally
  24. season — of the year

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