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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. band — a ring
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. press — a publisher
  7. present — a gift
  8. tear — to rip
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. object — an aim
  11. mine — for digging
  12. press — to push
  13. pop — soda
  14. present — the time now
  15. object — a thing
  16. press — newspapers
  17. pop — to visit
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — to come from
  20. present — there
  21. pop — music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. object — to protest
  24. band — a music group

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