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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. press — to push
  3. bass — low music
  4. content — the amount
  5. roll — a cake
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cap — of ice
  8. present — a gift
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bass — the fish
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. content — happy
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. stem — to come from
  15. press — newspapers
  16. present — the time now
  17. cap — a hat
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. roll — a list
  21. cap — a lid
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. roll — on a roll

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