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

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. roll — a list
  4. track — to keep track
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. roll — a cake
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. net — for catching
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. track — a song
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — after costs
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chair — a leader
  20. track — a path
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cold — not warm
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. hide — to keep secret

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