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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 116 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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. file — a line of people
  8. staff — employees
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. game — a match
  13. staff — employees
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. file — a tool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. clip — to cut
  20. staff — a stick
  21. clip — a video
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. clip — for paper
  24. file — a document

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