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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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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 · stem · plane · row · squash · field · wind · rest

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. field — farmland
  3. press — a publisher
  4. field — for sport
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. press — to push
  8. row — to paddle
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rest — a break
  12. squash — the sport
  13. press — newspapers
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. wind — moving air
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. field — a subject
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. rest — what's left
  22. plane — a tool
  23. row — a line
  24. stem — a stem cell

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