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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. spring — a coil
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. lean — to bend
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. spring — the season
  8. capital — a city
  9. perch — the fish
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. drill — the tool
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. lean — thin
  15. chair — a leader
  16. drill — army training
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. spring — of water
  20. capital — money
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. drill — a practice
  24. trunk — of a car

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