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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. spell — letters
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cue — a signal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. last — to go on
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. last — final
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cue — for pool
  14. spell — magic
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. last — finally
  18. cue — a hint

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