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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: toast · bowl · craft · spring · squash · wax · jam · chest

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. craft — a skill
  3. chest — of your body
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wax — to grow
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. chest — a box
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. spring — of water
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. squash — to crush
  14. craft — boats
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. squash — the sport
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. chest — of your body
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. toast — bread
  24. bowl — to roll

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