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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pass — a permit
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. tear — to rip
  7. scale — size or range
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pit — in a race
  10. press — newspapers
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. hand — help
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fork — in a road
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. scale — in music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pit — a hole
  23. press — to push
  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