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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: wake · chair · pass · sharp · stem · mark · band · tear

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. chair — a leader
  5. sharp — clever
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. pass — a permit
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. mark — a grade
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wake — a trail
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. band — a ring
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. band — a music group

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