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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. key — for a lock
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. ground — the earth
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. key — in music
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. key — the most important part
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. chip — to eat
  21. chip — for betting
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chair — to sit on

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