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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. track — a song
  4. stem — to come from
  5. track — a path
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bass — low music
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cold — not warm
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — a committee
  12. last — finally
  13. bass — the fish
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rock — a stone
  17. last — to go on
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. board — to get on
  21. last — final
  22. rock — music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. chair — a leader

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