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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. band — a music group
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. field — for sport
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. field — farmland
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cue — for pool
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. field — a subject
  18. wax — to grow
  19. root — of a word
  20. bore — to drill
  21. root — of a plant
  22. band — a ring
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. root — the cause

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