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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. craft — boats
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. capital — a city
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. capital — money
  11. craft — a skill
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. land — ground
  14. bank — for money
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bank — for money
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. land — a country
  24. chair — a leader

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