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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. ball — a dance
  4. mark — a trace
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pass — a permit
  8. ball — a great time
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mark — a grade
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. current — happening now
  19. content — happy
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — the amount
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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