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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.

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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: capital · stem · chair · lean · ball · rush · fall · press

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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. ball — a great time
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. capital — a city
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. press — to push
  10. fall — the season
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. capital — money
  15. rush — hurry
  16. fall — to drop
  17. press — a publisher
  18. lean — thin
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. press — newspapers
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. ball — a dance
  24. rush — a thrill

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