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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: straw · shower · press · track · court · stem · pitcher · rest

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. court — of a king
  6. rest — a break
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. press — to push
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. press — newspapers
  14. track — to keep track
  15. court — for sport
  16. rest — what's left
  17. shower — to wash
  18. press — a publisher
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. track — a song
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. track — a path
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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