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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: march · chair · fork · squash · firm · racket · mate · stem

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. firm — decided
  5. chair — a leader
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mate — to breed
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. march — the month
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mate — a partner
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. squash — the sport
  23. firm — a company
  24. stem — of a plant

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