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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 116 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bat — the animal
  5. last — final
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. press — newspapers
  11. last — finally
  12. rule — a law
  13. scale — in music
  14. rule — government
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. stock — shares
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. press — a publisher
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. scale — size or range

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