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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fall — to drop
  4. stem — to come from
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cap — a hat
  7. march — music
  8. fall — the season
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. kid — child
  23. fall — to drop
  24. march — the month

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