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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bear · stem · rule · court · pit · chest

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pit — a hole
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. court — of a king
  10. chest — a box
  11. court — for sport
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. court — of law
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. rule — government
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. pit — in a race

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