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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. kick — in football
  4. stem — to come from
  5. court — of law
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. court — of a king
  10. pop — to visit
  11. spell — letters
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — magic
  18. pop — music
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. pop — soda
  23. tear — to rip
  24. chair — a leader

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