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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. court — of a king
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. root — the cause
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. court — for sport
  13. root — of a word
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rash — a series
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. court — of law

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