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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: press · spring · season · date · craft · cold · mark · racket

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cold — not warm
  3. date — the fruit
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. craft — a skill
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. craft — boats
  8. press — a publisher
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. press — newspapers
  11. season — of the year
  12. spring — a coil
  13. cold — an illness
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. press — to push
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. spring — of water
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mark — a grade
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. mark — a trace
  23. season — in sport
  24. craft — a handicraft

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