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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. cue — a signal
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cue — for pool
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cue — a hint
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wax — to grow
  12. scale — in music
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. bat — the animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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