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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. prune — to trim
  3. last — final
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. degree — an amount
  8. last — to go on
  9. craft — boats
  10. object — a thing
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stem — to come from
  13. press — a publisher
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. degree — temperature
  16. press — newspapers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. object — an aim
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. degree — from a university
  21. last — finally
  22. object — to protest
  23. craft — a skill
  24. prune — to trim

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