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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. rock — music
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. season — in sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rock — a stone
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. kid — child
  10. chair — a leader
  11. season — of the year
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. pitcher — a jug

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