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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.

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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tube — a container
  3. bear — the animal
  4. press — a publisher
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. net — after costs
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bank — for money
  14. press — to push
  15. net — for catching
  16. tear — from crying
  17. net — in sport
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bank — for money
  21. bear — the animal
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. tube — in a tire

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