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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: hand · stem · chair · stand · ball · land · tube · squash

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. land — a country
  3. hand — help
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. squash — the sport
  10. chair — a leader
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hand — in cards
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stand — on your feet

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