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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. mate — a partner
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stock — shares
  13. mate — to breed
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. clip — for paper
  16. plane — a tool
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bulb — for light
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stock — goods
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stock — a soup base

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