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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 120 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: prune · bat · fork · craft · lean · spring · wound · stock

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bat — the animal
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. craft — boats
  6. spring — the season
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spring — a coil
  13. craft — a skill
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wound — an injury
  19. lean — thin
  20. fork — in a road
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — shares
  24. spring — of water

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