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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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Word bank
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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. plane — a tool
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pass — a permit
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kick — in football
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cold — an illness
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. stem — a stem cell

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