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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: press · wake · season · present · ground · coach · game · stem

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. press — to push
  3. ground — crushed
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. present — there
  10. ground — a position
  11. press — newspapers
  12. game — a match
  13. press — a publisher
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. stem — to come from
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. present — the time now
  22. wake — a trail
  23. present — a gift
  24. ground — the earth

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