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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. lean — to bend
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. march — the month
  5. press — a publisher
  6. hand — in cards
  7. plane — a tool
  8. hand — help
  9. ball — a great time
  10. stem — to come from
  11. lean — thin
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — the tool
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. drill — army training
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. march — music
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. drill — a practice
  21. press — to push
  22. press — newspapers
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. ball — a dance

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