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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mug — a face
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cue — for pool
  7. field — farmland
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. field — for sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mug — a cup
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. chip — for betting
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. field — a subject
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cue — a signal
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mug — to rob

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