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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cue — a signal
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — a series
  13. march — music
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chest — of your body
  16. march — the month
  17. cue — for pool
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. cue — a hint
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. march — the month
  22. chest — a box
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stem — to come from

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