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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. last — final
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bound — obliged
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. last — finally
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bound — certain
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stem — to come from
  21. club — a group
  22. last — to go on
  23. club — for golf
  24. bear — the animal

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