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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. drill — the tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. kid — child
  5. present — a gift
  6. club — for golf
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. drill — a practice
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. present — the time now
  14. spring — of water
  15. club — a group
  16. press — a publisher
  17. club — for dancing
  18. spring — the season
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. drill — army training
  21. present — there
  22. spring — a coil
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — to push

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