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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bass — low music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — a phone
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — music
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cue — a signal
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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