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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: shower · press · hide · stick · field · stem · stand · squash

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. field — farmland
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. stem — to come from
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. press — newspapers
  12. field — for sport
  13. press — to push
  14. field — a subject
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. squash — the sport
  17. press — a publisher
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. squash — to crush
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. stand — to bear

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