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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. spell — a short time
  3. present — the time now
  4. present — a gift
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. spell — magic
  7. press — to push
  8. chest — a box
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. press — a publisher
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chest — of your body
  14. press — newspapers
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. squash — to crush
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. foot — a measure
  19. present — there
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chest — of your body
  22. squash — the sport
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. bark — of a tree

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