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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. press — newspapers
  6. tear — to rip
  7. press — to push
  8. tear — from crying
  9. press — a publisher
  10. capital — money
  11. pound — a weight
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stem — to come from
  14. capital — a city
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. foot — part of the body

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