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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. scale — size or range
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cap — a hat
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. scale — in music
  12. mug — a face
  13. chair — a leader
  14. mug — a cup
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cap — a lid
  17. band — a music group
  18. mate — to breed
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — the animal
  21. band — a ring
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mug — to rob

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