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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: sharp · press · kick · leaves · content · tear · stem · wake

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wake — a trail
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. press — to push
  9. content — happy
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. content — the amount
  15. kick — in football
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. tear — from crying
  19. press — a publisher
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. tear — to rip
  22. press — newspapers
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. sharp — clever

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