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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. lean — thin
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rule — government
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cue — a signal
  8. field — farmland
  9. cue — for pool
  10. content — happy
  11. rule — a law
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. cue — a hint
  15. field — for sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. content — the amount
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. field — a subject

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