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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. bound — certain
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cue — for pool
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. rush — hurry
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. bound — tied together
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cue — a hint
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. ball — a dance
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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