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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pop — music
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mate — to breed
  6. press — a publisher
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. club — for dancing
  9. snap — to click
  10. court — of a king
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. court — for sport
  14. press — to push
  15. club — for golf
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. saw — the tool
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. press — newspapers
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. court — of law

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