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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: stem · object · press · wound · cold · pound · bulb · pop

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wound — an injury
  3. object — a thing
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pop — music
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stem — to come from
  10. object — an aim
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pop — soda
  13. press — a publisher
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — an illness
  23. press — newspapers
  24. object — to protest

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