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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cue — for pool
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stem — to come from
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. staff — a stick
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. staff — employees
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cue — a hint
  17. staff — employees
  18. kid — child

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