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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: wound · chair · cue · stem · kick · shower · snap · chest

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. cue — a hint
  3. chest — of your body
  4. shower — to wash
  5. chest — a box
  6. chair — a leader
  7. shower — rain
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cue — a signal
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. snap — to click
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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