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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 happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cue — a signal
  3. mug — a cup
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. field — for sport
  9. mug — a face
  10. field — a subject
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. cold — not warm
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cue — a hint
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bear — the animal
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. field — farmland
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bear — the animal
  24. mug — to rob

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