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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tear · press · field · content · dip · mug · stem · object

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. stem — to come from
  3. field — a subject
  4. tear — to rip
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. press — a publisher
  7. mug — a face
  8. content — happy
  9. mug — to rob
  10. object — to protest
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. field — for sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mug — a cup
  18. content — the amount
  19. object — an aim
  20. dip — to sink
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. press — newspapers
  23. field — farmland
  24. object — a thing

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