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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. cue — a hint
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pitch — completely
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cold — not warm

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