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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cue — for pool
  5. field — for sport
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. bank — for money
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bank — of a river
  11. pound — a weight
  12. club — a group
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. club — for golf
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. date — the fruit
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bank — for money
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — a subject
  22. cue — a hint
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. club — for dancing

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