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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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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: chair · bay · pitcher · pass · foot · branch · tear · stem

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pass — a permit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. tear — from crying
  10. foot — a measure
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chair — a leader
  24. stem — a stem cell

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