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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · pound · mate · cap · press · stem

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mate — a partner
  6. cap — a lid
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. press — newspapers
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pound — a weight
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tear — to rip
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cap — of ice
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mate — a friend
  18. pound — to hit hard

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