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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. pit — in a race
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stem — to come from
  10. spring — the season
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. spring — of water
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. cue — a hint
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mine — an explosive

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