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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — completely
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. file — a tool
  8. stem — to come from
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. spring — the season
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. craft — boats
  15. deal — to handle
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. file — a document
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. file — a line of people

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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