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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. press — to push
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cell — a phone
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cell — in biology
  12. deal — to handle
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. chip — to eat
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stem — to come from
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. ground — crushed
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ground — the earth

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