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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stem — to come from
  8. tube — a container
  9. cold — not warm
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cold — an illness
  15. tube — the underground
  16. rule — a law
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. sharp — clever
  23. rule — government
  24. sharp — with an edge

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