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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 is an ace ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. clip — for paper
  7. cue — a hint
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cue — a signal
  11. rush — hurry
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. cue — for pool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — a video
  17. lie — to recline
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. scale — in music

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