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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: chair · season · cold · stem · toast · cell · firm · rest

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. rest — what's left
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. firm — steady
  8. season — in sport
  9. cold — not warm
  10. firm — a company
  11. chair — a leader
  12. season — of the year
  13. firm — decided
  14. rest — what's left
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stem — to come from
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. toast — bread
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chair — a professorship

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