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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chip — to eat
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mark — a trace
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. shower — to wash
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. field — for sport
  14. ball — a great time
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. row — a line
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. row — to paddle
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mark — a grade
  24. ball — a dance

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