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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stem — to come from
  3. net — after costs
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. press — newspapers
  6. press — to push
  7. press — a publisher
  8. file — a document
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. prune — to trim
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. net — for catching
  15. file — a tool
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. net — in sport
  21. saw — the tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. prune — to trim
  24. stem — a stem cell

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