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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: chest · net · race · press · trunk · stem · mug · mark

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. race — the arms race
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mug — to rob
  5. race — humankind
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. chest — of your body
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mug — a face
  11. mark — a grade
  12. mark — a trace
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. race — a contest
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. press — to push
  18. net — after costs
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. press — newspapers
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. net — in sport
  23. press — a publisher
  24. net — for catching

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