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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: sharp · pop · press · mug · stem · cold · wake · racket

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. mug — a face
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. press — to push
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pop — soda
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pop — music
  15. mug — to rob
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mug — a cup
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wake — a trail
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wake — before a funeral

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