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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: fall · chair · stem · season · bat · mine · row · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. bound — tied together
  2. fall — to drop
  3. row — a line
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stem — to come from
  7. mine — for digging
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bound — obliged
  12. fall — the season
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. bound — certain
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bat — the animal
  21. season — of the year
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. fall — to drop
  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