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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: field · press · bore · rest · spring · stem · perch · wave

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. field — farmland
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bore — to tire
  7. press — to push
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. press — newspapers
  12. rest — what's left
  13. field — for sport
  14. spring — a coil
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. bore — to drill
  18. spring — the season
  19. field — a subject
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. rest — a break
  22. spring — of water
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. perch — for a bird

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