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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: mine · press · net · roll · stem · cold · board · club

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. roll — a list
  5. press — to push
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. club — for golf
  10. net — after costs
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. board — to get on
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. club — for dancing
  17. press — newspapers
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — for digging
  20. net — in sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. club — a group
  23. net — for catching
  24. roll — a cake

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