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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: cold · jam · pound · press · tube · stem · march · staff

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pound — a weight
  4. press — newspapers
  5. staff — employees
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. cold — an illness
  12. staff — a stick
  13. tube — the underground
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. staff — employees
  17. press — to push
  18. cold — not warm
  19. march — music
  20. tube — a container
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. march — the month
  24. stem — to come from

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