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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: pound · chair · stem · deal · wave · cell · fine · race

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — all right
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cell — in biology
  8. chair — a leader
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. fine — high quality
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. pound — a weight
  14. race — humankind
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. deal — to handle
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. race — a contest
  24. stem — a stem cell

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