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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 116 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: key · club · saw · track · chair · press · pit · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. key — for a lock
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. press — to push
  7. track — to keep track
  8. club — a group
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. track — a song
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chair — a leader
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pit — in a race
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. key — the most important part
  18. track — a path
  19. press — a publisher
  20. saw — the tool
  21. club — for golf
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. key — in music
  24. press — newspapers

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