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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: rest · stem · rule · cell · leaves · last · chair · calf

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. last — to go on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. rest — what's left
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. last — final
  15. rule — a law
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rest — a break
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. last — finally
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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