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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: bear · press · jam · last · fall · kid · stem · bass

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. kid — child
  6. last — final
  7. press — to push
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. last — to go on
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fall — to drop
  12. last — finally
  13. bear — the animal
  14. press — a publisher
  15. press — newspapers
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. bass — the fish
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — low music
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. fall — the season
  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