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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: chair · season · cold · stem · racket · date · mark · hand

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. season — in sport
  4. hand — in cards
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. chair — a leader
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mark — a grade
  12. hand — help
  13. season — of the year
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. date — the fruit
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mark — a trace

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