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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: fork · hide · spring · craft · press · march · ground · chest

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. ground — crushed
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chest — of your body
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. press — a publisher
  10. craft — a skill
  11. fork — in a road
  12. press — newspapers
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — of water
  15. march — music
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. craft — boats
  18. ground — a position
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spring — the season
  23. press — to push
  24. march — the month

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