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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. snap — to click
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. cell — in biology
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. season — of the year
  13. chair — a leader
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. season — in sport
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. chair — a professorship

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