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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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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: wind · sharp · press · tube · wake · fork · stem · wound

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — the underground
  12. press — a publisher
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — in a road
  16. press — newspapers
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tube — a container
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. press — to push
  23. wake — a trail
  24. sharp — exactly

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