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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. prune — to trim
  6. rest — a break
  7. bulb — for light
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. bulb — for light
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wake — a trail
  20. press — newspapers
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. press — a publisher
  24. stem — of a plant

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