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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. rule — government
  3. season — of the year
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. court — for sport
  9. face — to point toward
  10. season — in sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. court — of a king
  14. cold — not warm
  15. face — part of the head
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. chair — a leader
  18. cold — an illness
  19. face — to confront
  20. court — of law
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stand — to bear
  23. rule — a law
  24. season — to add flavour

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