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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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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: bore · spring · scale · cold · stem · craft · march · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. bore — to drill
  3. march — music
  4. press — to push
  5. bore — to tire
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. spring — the season
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stem — to come from
  12. spring — of water
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. craft — boats
  18. scale — size or range
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cold — not warm
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. craft — a skill

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