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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tube — the underground
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. tube — a container
  14. net — for catching
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. cold — not warm

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