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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mate — to breed
  3. chair — a leader
  4. mate — a partner
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mate — a friend
  11. fine — all right
  12. cap — of ice
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cap — a lid
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. squash — the sport
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cell — a phone
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. squash — to crush
  24. lean — to bend

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