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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bore — to drill
  4. last — final
  5. cap — a hat
  6. chest — of your body
  7. season — of the year
  8. last — finally
  9. press — newspapers
  10. craft — boats
  11. craft — a skill
  12. press — to push
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. cap — of ice
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chest — a box
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. bore — to tire
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. last — to go on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. season — in sport
  24. cap — a lid

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