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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: pit · press · stem · kid · content · march

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. press — newspapers
  4. march — music
  5. kid — to tease
  6. content — the amount
  7. march — the month
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. march — the month
  10. press — to push
  11. kid — child
  12. pit — in a race
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. stem — to come from
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pit — a hole
  18. content — happy

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