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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 · wax · ground · chest · sharp · stem · press · net

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. craft — boats
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. ground — a position
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. ground — the earth
  10. craft — a skill
  11. chest — of your body
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stem — to come from
  14. net — for catching
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chest — a box
  20. sharp — clever
  21. net — in sport
  22. press — to push
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. net — after costs

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