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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — a position
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mark — a trace
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. stem — to come from
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. net — after costs
  10. ground — the earth
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. net — for catching
  18. last — finally
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. net — in sport
  21. last — final
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. content — happy
  24. chair — a professorship

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