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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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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: stem · chair · ground · leaves · cold · staff · fine · deal

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fine — high quality
  3. stem — to come from
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cold — an illness
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. chair — a leader
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. ground — the earth
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. staff — employees
  18. fine — all right
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. deal — to handle
  21. staff — employees
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. fine — a penalty

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