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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wind — moving air
  4. press — to push
  5. file — a tool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. land — to come down
  11. press — a publisher
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. press — newspapers
  15. file — a line of people
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a document
  23. mouse — the animal
  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