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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. present — a gift
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stem — to come from
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. capital — a city
  9. present — there
  10. perch — the fish
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. game — wild animals
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. present — the time now

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