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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: chair · spring · craft · cell · clip · suit · fork · prune

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. craft — boats
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. suit — clothes
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. spring — of water
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. suit — in cards
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cell — a phone
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. spring — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. fork — in a road
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. clip — to cut
  22. suit — to fit
  23. craft — a skill
  24. prune — the fruit

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