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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. press — to push
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — a video
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — a cup
  12. wax — to grow
  13. board — to get on
  14. press — newspapers
  15. board — a committee
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. press — a publisher
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. mug — to rob
  23. board — a flat piece
  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