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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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468
Word bank
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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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stem — to come from
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. press — newspapers
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wound — an injury
  12. capital — money
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. capital — a city
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. press — a publisher
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. vault — a safe
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. fork — in a road

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