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

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

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

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — a friend
  4. press — a publisher
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tear — from crying
  7. press — to push
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cap — of ice
  12. mate — a partner
  13. stem — to come from
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cap — a lid

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