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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 120 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: press · file · cell · mate · spell · racket · ground · stem

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. file — a line of people
  4. mate — a partner
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cell — in biology
  7. ground — crushed
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. press — to push
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — letters
  13. file — a document
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. press — newspapers
  19. stem — to come from
  20. ground — the earth
  21. spell — magic
  22. ground — a position
  23. file — a tool
  24. mate — a friend

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