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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: cabinet · craft · land · spring · mark · prune · pitcher · coach

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mark — a grade
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. spring — a coil
  7. craft — a skill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. spring — of water
  12. land — ground
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mark — a trace
  15. spring — the season
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. land — a country
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. prune — to trim
  24. land — to come down

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