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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. press — to push
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. press — newspapers
  5. lean — to bend
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rule — a law
  10. tear — from crying
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rule — government
  19. stem — to come from
  20. snap — to click
  21. press — a publisher
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. tear — to rip
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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