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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. object — to protest
  4. bat — the animal
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. craft — boats
  7. craft — a skill
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cold — an illness
  10. object — an aim
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. cold — not warm

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