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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · craft · content · spell · coach · plane · court · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — of a king
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. press — a publisher
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. stock — shares
  10. court — for sport
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. spell — a short time
  13. plane — a tool
  14. court — of law
  15. content — the amount
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. spell — magic
  18. content — happy
  19. press — newspapers
  20. craft — boats
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. coach — a trainer

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