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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  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. season — to add flavour
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. stem — to come from
  4. kid — child
  5. cue — for pool
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. net — after costs
  8. cap — a lid
  9. fork — in a road
  10. net — in sport
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cap — a hat
  13. net — for catching
  14. season — of the year
  15. cue — a signal
  16. cue — a hint
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. kid — to tease
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. season — in sport
  21. cap — of ice
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  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