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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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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: staff · rock · press · drill · bay · stem · saw · game

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. press — to push
  3. staff — employees
  4. stem — to come from
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. staff — a stick
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rock — a stone
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. saw — the tool
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. staff — employees
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. drill — army training
  20. saw — the tool
  21. game — a match
  22. press — newspapers
  23. rock — music
  24. stem — of a plant

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