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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 120 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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cue — for pool
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cell — a phone
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cell — in biology
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. shower — to wash
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. degree — an amount
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — rain
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bulb — for light
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. wound — an injury

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