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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chair — a leader
  4. lean — thin
  5. tube — a container
  6. lean — to bend
  7. stem — to come from
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. mine — for digging
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. date — the fruit
  16. cue — a signal
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. cue — for pool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cue — a hint
  24. shower — rain

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