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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. club — for golf
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chair — a leader
  10. sharp — clever
  11. hand — in cards
  12. season — of the year
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wind — moving air
  15. season — in sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. club — a group
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. hand — help
  24. sharp — with an edge

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