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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mark — a trace
  5. row — to paddle
  6. season — of the year
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cue — for pool
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. mark — a grade
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — a hint
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — an illness
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. march — the month
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. season — in sport
  23. row — a line
  24. stem — a stem cell

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