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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chair — a leader
  7. club — for golf
  8. rule — government
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. club — a group
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bat — the animal
  14. kid — child
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. tear — from crying
  23. club — for dancing
  24. rule — a law

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