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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. spring — of water
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cue — a hint
  8. row — to paddle
  9. stem — to come from
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. date — the fruit
  15. spring — the season
  16. cue — a signal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. content — happy
  19. track — a song
  20. content — the amount
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — a line
  23. track — a path
  24. stem — of a plant

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