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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stem — to come from
  3. current — happening now
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. key — the most important part
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. field — a subject
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. current — electric
  16. field — for sport
  17. key — in music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. key — for a lock
  20. sharp — clever
  21. current — of water
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — farmland

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