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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wind — moving air
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. scale — in music
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mug — a cup
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cue — a signal
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mug — to rob
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. mug — a face
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bass — low music
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. scale — size or range

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