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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 120 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. present — a gift
  6. game — wild animals
  7. tube — the underground
  8. pop — music
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cue — for pool
  11. pop — soda
  12. cue — a signal
  13. tube — a container
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cue — a hint
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. wound — an injury
  24. game — a kind of play

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