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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cue — a signal
  4. field — for sport
  5. pound — a weight
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. field — farmland
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. face — to confront
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stem — to come from
  15. kid — child
  16. cue — for pool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. face — part of the head
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. field — a subject
  22. face — to point toward
  23. kid — to tease
  24. drill — a practice

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