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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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. staff — a stick
  3. snap — to click
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stem — to come from
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. staff — employees
  10. prune — to trim
  11. press — a publisher
  12. row — a line
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. row — to paddle
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. staff — employees

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