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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 116 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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. kick — in football
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. press — a publisher
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. craft — boats
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. craft — a skill
  11. game — a match
  12. pop — soda
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. pit — in a race
  19. game — wild animals
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — the animal
  23. press — to push
  24. press — newspapers

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