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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. spell — letters
  3. foot — a measure
  4. stem — to come from
  5. field — farmland
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. spell — magic
  10. rule — government
  11. field — a subject
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. field — for sport
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rule — a law
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wake — before a funeral

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