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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stick · cold · row · stem · chip · deal

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. 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. deal — an agreement
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. deal — to handle
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chip — to eat
  7. row — a line
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. chip — for betting
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. 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