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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. field — for sport
  5. firm — steady
  6. ball — a dance
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. firm — a company
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. ball — a great time
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. field — farmland
  14. lean — thin
  15. degree — temperature
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. degree — an amount
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. firm — decided
  20. field — a subject
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lean — to bend
  23. chair — a leader
  24. degree — from a university

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