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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. spring — of water
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. spring — the season
  11. rash — a series
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. rash — hasty
  15. stem — to come from
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. current — electric
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stem — a stem cell

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