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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. press — a publisher
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. press — to push
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. season — in sport
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. stem — to come from
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. press — newspapers
  17. row — a line
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. deal — to handle
  22. row — to paddle
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. season — of the year

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