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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. court — of law
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. pass — a permit
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. prune — to trim
  17. court — of a king
  18. wake — a trail
  19. hand — help
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. court — for sport

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