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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: nail · stem · cue · cold · cell · ground · tear · swing

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. cue — a signal
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cue — for pool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cell — in biology
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cue — a hint
  16. ground — the earth
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ground — a position
  19. stem — to come from
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. swing — to play on
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cell — a phone

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