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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. cold — not warm
  6. season — in sport
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stand — to bear
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wind — moving air
  11. season — of the year
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. last — to go on
  17. pitch — completely
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. last — final
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stem — to come from
  22. last — finally
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pitch — a sports field

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