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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 120 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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. spell — letters
  6. bass — low music
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bass — the fish
  9. race — humankind
  10. press — newspapers
  11. scale — size or range
  12. press — to push
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. pass — a permit
  16. race — a contest
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stem — to come from
  19. race — the arms race
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — a short time
  23. scale — in music
  24. stem — a stem cell

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