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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · toast · prune · bore · craft · press · spring · degree

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. press — newspapers
  4. cold — not warm
  5. craft — a skill
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. degree — from a university
  8. press — to push
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. craft — boats
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bore — to tire
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. spring — of water
  17. degree — an amount
  18. prune — to trim
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bore — to drill
  21. prune — to trim
  22. press — a publisher
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. toast — the most admired

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