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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: season · cold · press · craft · land · pop · stick · bore

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. craft — a skill
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bore — to drill
  5. craft — boats
  6. land — ground
  7. pop — soda
  8. press — to push
  9. land — a country
  10. press — a publisher
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. season — of the year
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bore — to tire
  16. season — in sport
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. press — newspapers
  24. craft — a handicraft

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