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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. prune — to trim
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rest — a break
  6. cell — a phone
  7. kid — child
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. rest — what's left
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mate — a partner
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. kid — to tease
  20. mate — a friend
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. cell — in biology
  24. rest — what's left

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