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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. march — music
  3. march — the month
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. shower — rain
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. craft — boats
  8. degree — from a university
  9. cue — a hint
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — a skill
  14. degree — an amount
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cue — for pool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. march — the month
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a line
  22. shower — to wash
  23. degree — temperature
  24. cue — a signal

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