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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: stick · chest · craft · shower · key · staff · field · spring

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. craft — boats
  4. shower — rain
  5. craft — a skill
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spring — a coil
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. spring — of water
  12. staff — employees
  13. key — the most important part
  14. chest — of your body
  15. staff — a stick
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. key — in music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. key — for a lock
  22. shower — to wash
  23. staff — employees
  24. spring — the season

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