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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 120 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chair — a leader
  3. mark — a grade
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. craft — boats
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. content — happy
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. craft — a skill
  20. content — the amount
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. stem — to come from

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