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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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. ball — a dance
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. swing — music
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. drill — army training
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rest — what's left
  11. cold — an illness
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rest — what's left
  14. pit — a hole
  15. ball — a great time
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cue — for pool
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cue — a signal
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cold — not warm
  24. pit — in a race

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