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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stem — to come from
  3. swing — music
  4. press — a publisher
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — in music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. press — newspapers
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. press — to push
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. key — the most important part
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — 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