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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. season — of the year
  5. press — to push
  6. fine — all right
  7. content — the amount
  8. lean — to bend
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. stem — to come from
  11. press — a publisher
  12. press — newspapers
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fine — high quality
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lean — thin
  24. season — in sport

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