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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cold — an illness
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — to eat
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. pit — in a race
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. pit — a hole
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. perch — the fish
  17. present — a gift
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stem — to come from
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — there
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. hide — to keep secret

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