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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. cue — a hint
  2. rule — government
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. cue — a signal
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pass — a permit
  8. row — to paddle
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spell — magic
  11. swing — music
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rule — a law
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. spell — letters
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. cue — for pool
  18. swing — to play on
  19. row — a line
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. spell — a short time
  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