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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. cue — a signal
  5. vault — a safe
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. cue — for pool
  8. degree — from a university
  9. degree — an amount
  10. degree — temperature
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cue — a hint
  15. hand — help
  16. cold — an illness
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wake — before a funeral

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