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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: press · stem · row · present · fan · pass · cell · bear

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. press — to push
  5. bear — the animal
  6. press — newspapers
  7. present — the time now
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. present — there
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. press — a publisher
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cell — a phone
  19. row — a line
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cell — in biology
  22. present — a gift
  23. bear — the animal
  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