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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cue — a hint
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. rest — a break
  5. cue — a signal
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. season — of the year
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. mine — for digging
  10. season — in sport
  11. kid — child
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cue — for pool
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. kid — to tease

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