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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bark — to shout
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. kid — child
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cue — a signal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cue — for pool
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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