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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. pitch — completely
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. field — for sport
  5. bark — to shout
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. press — a publisher
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. tube — the underground
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. press — newspapers
  20. lean — thin
  21. mine — for digging
  22. press — to push
  23. stem — of a plant
  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