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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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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: court · press · bore · stand · last · kid · stem · shower

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bore — to tire
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. press — to push
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stand — to bear
  16. court — for sport
  17. press — newspapers
  18. court — of a king
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. court — of law
  22. bore — to drill
  23. last — finally
  24. kid — child

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