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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. lean — to bend
  3. chip — to eat
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. shower — rain
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cue — a signal
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. lean — thin
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. chair — a leader
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. shower — to wash
  16. march — the month
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. march — music
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tear — from crying
  21. cue — for pool
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chip — for betting
  24. march — the month

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