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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: pop · stem · present · chair · hand · net · rush · sharp

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pop — to visit
  4. sharp — clever
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. net — for catching
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. stem — to come from
  16. present — the time now
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. pop — music
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. hand — help
  22. net — in sport
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pop — soda

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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