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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 · band · spring · rush · arm · stem · tear · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cue — a signal
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. tear — from crying
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. spring — the season
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — for pool
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. spring — of water
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. spring — a coil

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