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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: chair · rule · wake · last · stem · season · file · cap

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. wake — a trail
  5. last — final
  6. season — in sport
  7. last — finally
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cap — of ice
  10. file — a tool
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. file — a document
  13. season — of the year
  14. last — to go on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. file — a line of people
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rule — government

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