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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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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: tear · cell · board · spring · mark · craft · pit · chair

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  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. pit — a fruit stone
  2. pit — a hole
  3. craft — boats
  4. pit — in a race
  5. craft — a skill
  6. cell — a phone
  7. chair — a leader
  8. board — a committee
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. board — to get on
  15. mark — a grade
  16. mark — a trace
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tear — to rip
  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