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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. spring — the season
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stem — to come from
  6. game — a match
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. chair — a leader
  9. sharp — clever
  10. spring — a coil
  11. season — in sport
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. season — of the year
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. spring — of water
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. arm — a part of something

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