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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. stock — shares
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bat — the animal
  10. club — for golf
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. club — a group
  15. kick — in football
  16. stock — goods
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chair — a leader
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. club — for dancing

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