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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. tear — from crying
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bat — the animal
  7. cue — a signal
  8. mug — a cup
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mug — a face
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stem — to come from
  18. branch — a division
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cue — a hint
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. cue — for pool

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