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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: bowl · board · tear · prune · stem · dip · press · content

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. tear — from crying
  6. press — newspapers
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — the amount
  9. board — to get on
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. tear — to rip
  12. prune — to trim
  13. content — happy
  14. stem — to come from
  15. prune — to trim
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. board — a committee
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. press — to push
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. press — a publisher

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