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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cue — a signal
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — a video
  8. bear — the animal
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cue — for pool

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