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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cue — for pool
  6. last — finally
  7. stem — to come from
  8. capital — a city
  9. fall — the season
  10. last — to go on
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. prune — to trim
  15. last — final
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fall — to drop
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. capital — money
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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