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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. lean — thin
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chair — a leader
  10. firm — steady
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. firm — decided
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. firm — a company
  17. stem — to come from
  18. degree — temperature
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. rest — a break
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. rest — what's left
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. jam — in traffic

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