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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — the season
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cue — a signal
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. court — of a king
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cue — a hint
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. court — for sport
  13. cue — for pool
  14. spring — a coil
  15. row — a line
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. court — of law
  18. row — to paddle

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