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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: wax · saw · plane · press · stem · pound · craft · spring

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. craft — a skill
  11. spring — of water
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. press — a publisher
  15. pound — a weight
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stem — to come from
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wax — to grow
  22. press — to push
  23. plane — a tool
  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