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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  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. stem — of a plant
  2. row — a line
  3. cue — a signal
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. cue — a hint
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cue — for pool
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wind — moving air
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stem — to come from
  23. row — a quarrel
  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