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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. board — a committee
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stem — to come from
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. scale — in music
  9. press — to push
  10. board — to get on
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rock — a stone
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ground — the earth
  16. press — newspapers
  17. rock — music
  18. tear — from crying
  19. scale — size or range
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wind — moving air
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. ground — a position

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