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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 120 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: cold · can · fork · wound · craft · key · stem · content

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. craft — boats
  3. fork — in a road
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. can — a tin
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. content — the amount
  10. key — for a lock
  11. content — happy
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. can — to be able to
  15. key — in music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. can — a tin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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