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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. press — newspapers
  7. field — for sport
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — to eat
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. capital — a city
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rule — government
  17. field — a subject
  18. capital — money
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. field — farmland
  22. rule — a law
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. chip — in a computer

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