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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fall — to drop
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cue — for pool
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. fall — the season
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cue — a signal
  14. kid — child
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. cue — a hint
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. fall — to drop
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cap — a hat
  21. rush — hurry
  22. cap — a lid
  23. cap — of ice
  24. stem — of a plant

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