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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 120 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. shower — rain
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. chair — a leader
  6. dip — to sink
  7. lean — thin
  8. race — a contest
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cue — for pool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. stem — to come from
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. cue — a signal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. bat — for baseball

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