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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · perch · press · wound · stem · mine · date · clip

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. date — the fruit
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. press — to push
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. clip — a video
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. press — a publisher
  17. clip — to cut
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mine — for digging
  20. clip — for paper
  21. press — newspapers
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. mine — belonging to me

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