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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. kid — child
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. rash — a series
  10. cue — a signal
  11. stem — to come from
  12. cue — a hint
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. cue — for pool
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pit — a hole
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. pit — in a race
  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