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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. court — for sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. court — of law
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bass — the fish
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. chair — a leader
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bass — low music
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. current — of water
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. court — of a king
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chair — to sit on

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