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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chest — a box
  3. drill — a practice
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. snap — to click
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. rule — a law
  9. rule — government
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rock — music
  13. drill — army training
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — a series
  17. stem — to come from
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chest — of your body
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chair — to sit on

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