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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. lean — thin
  6. tube — the underground
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. band — a ring
  9. swing — music
  10. cue — for pool
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cue — a signal
  13. swing — in golf
  14. court — of a king
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. swing — to play on
  17. court — of law
  18. band — a music group
  19. cue — a hint
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. tube — a container
  23. court — for sport
  24. stem — to come from

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