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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. degree — an amount
  3. march — the month
  4. cue — a signal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stem — to come from
  8. cue — for pool
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. roll — a cake
  12. mine — for digging
  13. roll — a list
  14. file — a tool
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. file — a document
  18. march — the month
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. march — music
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cue — a hint
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stem — of a plant

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