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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. foot — a measure
  4. sharp — clever
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. file — a document
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. file — a tool
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. bear — the animal
  17. date — the fruit
  18. file — a line of people
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. stem — to come from

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