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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. mate — a partner
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — to push
  6. mate — a friend
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a skill
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — in a road
  11. press — newspapers
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mate — to breed
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. foot — a measure
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. spring — of water
  24. field — for sport

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