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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. wind — moving air
  4. key — in music
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. key — for a lock
  7. press — a publisher
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rush — hurry
  15. scale — size or range
  16. press — to push
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. drill — a practice
  19. scale — in music
  20. key — the most important part
  21. drill — the tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. drill — army training
  24. press — newspapers

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