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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. cold — not warm
  4. row — a line
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cue — a signal
  9. stem — to come from
  10. vault — a safe
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. cue — a hint
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. kick — in football
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cue — for pool
  24. row — to paddle

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