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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rock — music
  7. degree — temperature
  8. march — the month
  9. degree — an amount
  10. rush — hurry
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chair — a leader
  13. degree — from a university
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. march — the month
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. march — music
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wind — moving air

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