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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. fork — in a road
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. press — to push
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. press — newspapers
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. press — a publisher
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a music group
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cold — an illness
  22. wake — a trail
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — a division

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