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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: shower · stem · kick · tear · cue · squash · cap · tube

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. cue — for pool
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cue — a hint
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. shower — rain
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. squash — the sport
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cue — a signal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tube — the underground
  15. cap — a lid
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. squash — to crush
  18. kick — in football
  19. tube — a container
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stem — to come from
  24. kick — with a leg

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