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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 116 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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. press — to push
  4. club — for golf
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. band — a ring
  8. cold — an illness
  9. club — a group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. club — for dancing
  12. staff — a stick
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stem — to come from
  18. staff — employees
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. staff — employees
  22. press — newspapers
  23. band — a music group
  24. stem — of a plant

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