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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. shower — rain
  3. press — newspapers
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. roll — a list
  8. press — a publisher
  9. last — final
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spring — the season
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. last — finally
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. shower — to wash
  20. stem — to come from
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. last — to go on
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. roll — a cake

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