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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. press — newspapers
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. press — a publisher
  6. bark — to shout
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a music group
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. degree — an amount
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. band — a ring
  17. press — to push
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — to come from

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