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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mark — a grade
  4. current — electric
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. court — for sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — of law
  10. stem — to come from
  11. court — of a king
  12. prune — to trim
  13. root — of a word
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace
  19. root — of a plant
  20. prune — to trim
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. chest — a box
  24. root — the cause

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