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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. arm — a part of something
  2. cue — for pool
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cold — not warm
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. scale — in music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — a hint
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wind — moving air
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bulb — for light
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cold — an illness
  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