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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. net — in sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stem — to come from
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. press — to push
  11. net — after costs
  12. season — in sport
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pound — a weight
  15. net — for catching
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. fork — in a road
  19. press — a publisher
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. toast — bread
  23. season — of the year
  24. stem — a stem cell

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