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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: ground · press · stem · kid · wave · shower · jam · chip

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. kid — child
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. ground — a position
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. stem — to come from
  8. press — to push
  9. chip — to eat
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. press — newspapers
  15. kid — to tease
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chip — for betting
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. jam — a tight spot

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