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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: field · stem · chair · cell · court · plane · rule · file

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. court — for sport
  3. field — for sport
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. field — a subject
  6. chair — a leader
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. file — a tool
  16. court — of law
  17. file — a line of people
  18. court — of a king
  19. field — farmland
  20. rule — government
  21. file — a document
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. cell — a phone

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