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

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cue — a signal
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cue — for pool
  5. kick — in football
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — soda
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. stem — to come from
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cap — of ice
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. pop — music
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mine — for digging

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