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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. capital — a city
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rock — a stone
  7. club — for golf
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. club — for dancing
  10. land — to come down
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. club — a group
  14. chair — a leader
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — money
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. land — ground
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. land — a country
  24. prune — the fruit

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