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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: cue · stem · shower · bat · rock · kid · lean · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. shower — to wash
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. stem — to come from
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cue — for pool
  10. rock — a stone
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cue — a signal
  13. toast — bread
  14. kid — child
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — to bend
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bat — the animal
  19. kid — to tease
  20. lean — thin
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. shower — rain
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. cue — a hint

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