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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: lash · stem · coach · field · cold · fork · cell · cue

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cell — a phone
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. stem — to come from
  11. field — for sport
  12. fork — in a road
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cue — for pool
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cell — in biology
  17. field — a subject
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. cue — a hint
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cold — not warm
  23. field — farmland
  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