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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. march — the month
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spring — of water
  7. stem — to come from
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. cue — a signal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. march — music
  15. scale — in music
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — the fruit
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cue — for pool
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. march — the month
  24. spring — the season

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