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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: press · rest · saw · stem · fine · cold · capital · root

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fine — all right
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rest — what's left
  8. capital — money
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. root — of a word
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. press — a publisher
  20. capital — a city
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — to come from
  24. cold — an illness

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