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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stem — to come from
  4. shower — rain
  5. suit — clothes
  6. bound — obliged
  7. root — the cause
  8. suit — to fit
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. shower — to wash
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. suit — in cards
  13. mine — for digging
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bound — tied together
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bound — certain
  22. root — of a plant
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. root — of a word

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