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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 120 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. firm — a company
  4. stem — to come from
  5. staff — employees
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. rash — a series
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. press — to push
  11. firm — steady
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. wind — moving air
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rash — hasty
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. staff — employees
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. press — newspapers
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. press — a publisher

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