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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 · sharp · stem · shower · scale · club · fall · bat

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cue — a signal
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. club — for golf
  5. scale — in music
  6. club — a group
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bat — the animal
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. shower — to wash
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. cue — a hint
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fall — the season
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cue — for pool
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fall — to drop
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. shower — rain

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