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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: land · press · pop · ball · straw · stem · ground · arm

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. pop — to visit
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. ball — a great time
  7. press — a publisher
  8. pop — music
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ground — a position
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. press — to push
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — the earth
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pop — soda
  19. press — newspapers
  20. stem — to come from
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. ball — a dance
  23. land — a country
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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