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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. press — a publisher
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fall — the season
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rock — a stone
  17. press — to push
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. press — newspapers
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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