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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. field — for sport
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — a leader
  12. press — to push
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. field — farmland
  16. press — newspapers
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mine — for digging
  19. object — a thing
  20. press — a publisher
  21. field — a subject
  22. wound — an injury
  23. object — an aim
  24. object — to protest

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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