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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. stem — to come from
  3. fine — high quality
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. last — final
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fine — all right
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. last — to go on
  16. fork — in a road
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport

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