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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. band — a ring
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cap — a lid
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. squash — to crush
  13. band — a music group
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cap — a hat
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. row — to paddle
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cap — of ice
  23. row — a line
  24. chair — a leader

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