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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. game — wild animals
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bear — the animal
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. chair — a leader
  15. game — a match
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. band — a ring
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bear — the animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stem — of a plant

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