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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: bark · press · face · stem · plane · wake · tube · net

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. tube — the underground
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. net — for catching
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bark — to shout
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. face — part of the head
  14. press — to push
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — after costs
  21. tube — a container
  22. stem — to come from
  23. plane — a tool
  24. press — newspapers

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