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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stem — to come from
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. net — after costs
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pop — to visit
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. net — for catching
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. net — in sport
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. mug — to rob
  18. pop — music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mug — a face
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pop — soda
  24. hand — part of the body

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