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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bound — certain
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. land — a country
  7. bound — tied together
  8. land — ground
  9. land — to come down
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — a position
  14. squash — to crush
  15. net — after costs
  16. chair — a leader
  17. net — in sport
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bound — obliged
  20. squash — the sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. net — for catching
  24. fall — the season

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