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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stem — to come from
  3. season — of the year
  4. fine — high quality
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fork — in a road
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. suit — in cards
  9. suit — clothes
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. capital — money
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chair — a leader
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. clip — a video
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. capital — a city
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. season — in sport
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. suit — to fit
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. fine — all right

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