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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  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. wave — with your hand
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. pop — soda
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fine — high quality
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — music
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. fine — all right
  15. rest — a break
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. degree — from a university
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. degree — an amount
  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