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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: chip · tear · cue · degree · lie · stem · coach · file

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. lie — to recline
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — for pool
  6. tear — to rip
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. file — a tool
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. stem — to come from
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chip — to eat
  17. degree — an amount
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. tear — from crying
  22. degree — temperature
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cue — a signal

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