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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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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: kick · chair · pit · saw · spell · stem · court · rash

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spell — letters
  4. kick — in football
  5. spell — a short time
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. court — of a king
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a hole
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. spell — magic
  16. saw — the tool
  17. rash — hasty
  18. court — for sport
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rash — a series
  21. court — of law
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — a leader
  24. kick — a thrill

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