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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rash — a series
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. race — humankind
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cue — for pool
  11. race — a contest
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rule — government
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. cue — a hint
  20. rule — a law
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chair — a leader
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bass — the instrument

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