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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: court · club · stem · game · press · fork · ground · craft

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. club — for dancing
  3. press — newspapers
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. press — to push
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. club — for golf
  10. press — a publisher
  11. club — a group
  12. fork — in a road
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ground — the earth
  16. court — of law
  17. ground — crushed
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. ground — a position
  20. game — a match
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. craft — a skill
  23. court — of a king
  24. game — wild animals

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