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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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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: chest · craft · stand · court · spring · fork · snap · track

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. track — to keep track
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stand — to bear
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. track — a path
  9. spring — a coil
  10. craft — a skill
  11. spring — the season
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to click
  14. track — a song
  15. spring — of water
  16. court — of a king
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. craft — boats

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