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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. last — final
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. press — a publisher
  8. stem — to come from
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. rock — music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. press — newspapers
  16. last — finally
  17. last — to go on
  18. ground — a position
  19. wind — moving air
  20. press — to push
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hide — animal skin

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