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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · kid · hide · bulb · saw · pitch · press · tube

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tube — a container
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. press — newspapers
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — to come from
  24. tube — the underground

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