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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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Word bank
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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: kick · stem · pop · file · press · chest

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. file — a line of people
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — a publisher
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. press — newspapers
  7. file — a tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pop — soda
  10. stem — to come from
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. press — to push
  13. chest — a box
  14. file — a document
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. kick — in football
  18. stem — a stem cell

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