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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — to push
  8. band — a ring
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. plane — a tool
  17. ground — the earth
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. ground — crushed
  20. ground — a position
  21. band — a music group
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. wind — moving air
  24. calf — of the leg

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