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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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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: shower · bat · chair · mine · pass · deal · court · stem

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. court — for sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. court — of a king
  8. pass — a permit
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. shower — rain
  11. court — of law
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. mine — for digging
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bat — the animal
  24. chair — a leader

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