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

Word bank: cold · shower · last · chip · stem · cue · pitch · foot

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. foot — a measure
  3. chip — for betting
  4. cold — not warm
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — finally
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. pitch — completely
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cold — an illness
  13. last — final
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cue — for pool
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. chip — to eat
  19. shower — rain
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cue — a signal
  22. last — to go on
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. stem — a stem cell

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