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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 116 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. spring — of water
  4. field — farmland
  5. press — newspapers
  6. cold — not warm
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. spring — a coil
  9. press — to push
  10. spring — the season
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. field — for sport
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. chip — to eat
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. chip — for betting
  20. cold — an illness
  21. field — a subject
  22. stem — to come from
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. press — a publisher

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