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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.

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: face · stem · bass · prune · press · field · wound · cell

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cell — a phone
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — the fish
  5. press — to push
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — to confront
  8. field — farmland
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. face — part of the head
  11. press — newspapers
  12. cell — in biology
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. face — to point toward
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. press — a publisher
  22. field — for sport
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wound — an injury

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