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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: pitcher · shower · bank · press · cell · jam · clip · stem

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bank — for money
  4. stem — to come from
  5. clip — a video
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — a phone
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bank — for money
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bank — of a river
  13. press — a publisher
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. shower — rain
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. press — to push
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. clip — for paper

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