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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. press — a publisher
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. tear — from crying
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stem — to come from
  14. roll — a cake
  15. staff — employees
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. staff — a stick
  18. branch — a division
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. press — newspapers
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. roll — a list
  24. staff — employees

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