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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. chair — a leader
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — magic
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. cue — a signal
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cue — a hint
  10. spell — a short time
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chest — of your body
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ball — a dance
  15. shower — to wash
  16. chest — a box
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ball — a great time
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cue — for pool
  24. shower — rain

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