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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. board — to get on
  4. present — a gift
  5. band — a music group
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. vault — a safe
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. present — the time now
  13. band — a ring
  14. mine — for digging
  15. chair — a leader
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. present — there
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. board — a committee
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. rule — government
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. rule — a law
  24. band — a rubber band

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