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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. chest — of your body
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. spell — magic
  7. press — newspapers
  8. chest — of your body
  9. craft — boats
  10. spell — letters
  11. press — a publisher
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. spell — a short time
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — the animal
  21. craft — a skill
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stem — to come from
  24. chest — a box

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