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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · spring · chair · stem · cold · fork

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cold — an illness
  9. spring — a coil
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fork — in a road
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. spring — of water
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cold — not warm

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