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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: can · field · press · craft · chest · cabinet · spring · club

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. can — a tin
  3. craft — a skill
  4. field — farmland
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. field — a subject
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. press — to push
  10. craft — boats
  11. press — a publisher
  12. club — a group
  13. can — a tin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. field — for sport
  16. can — to be able to
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. press — newspapers

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