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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. press — a publisher
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. court — for sport
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. court — of a king
  18. wake — a trail
  19. season — of the year
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chair — a leader
  22. season — in sport
  23. court — of law
  24. cold — an illness

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