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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — for pool
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. ball — a great time
  8. tube — a container
  9. bat — the animal
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. foot — a measure
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tube — the underground
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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