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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 120 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: tear · object · cold · pit · wave · stem · kick · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. stem — to come from
  3. object — a thing
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pit — a hole
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. tear — from crying
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cold — an illness
  15. object — an aim
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. object — to protest
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. kick — in football
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. chair — to sit on
  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