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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. last — to go on
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. fine — high quality
  10. row — a line
  11. hand — help
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. fine — all right
  16. game — a match
  17. row — to paddle
  18. last — finally
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. last — final
  23. stem — to come from
  24. game — a kind of play

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