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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. lean — thin
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. pitch — completely
  10. press — to push
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mate — a partner
  16. spring — of water
  17. mate — a friend
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. press — newspapers
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. lean — to bend
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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