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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. mate — a friend
  5. field — for sport
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. roll — a list
  12. mate — to breed
  13. stem — to come from
  14. field — farmland
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chair — a leader
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. mate — a partner
  21. field — a subject
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. tear — from crying

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