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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: present · stem · prune · scale · chair · straw · court · wave

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. chair — a leader
  3. prune — to trim
  4. court — of a king
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. present — a gift
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. scale — size or range
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. court — of law
  11. stem — to come from
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. prune — to trim
  15. present — the time now
  16. court — for sport
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. present — there
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. scale — in music

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