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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 116 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: march · bear · fall · clip · stem · craft · press · key

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. craft — a skill
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. key — the most important part
  8. fall — to drop
  9. key — for a lock
  10. press — a publisher
  11. clip — for paper
  12. key — in music
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. craft — boats
  15. bear — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fall — the season
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. stem — a stem cell

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