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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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Word bank
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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: row · chair · clip · cue · rash · fork · pitcher · stem

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  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. rash — a series
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cue — a hint
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rash — hasty
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. row — a line
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. fork — in a road
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — to cut
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cue — for pool
  20. clip — a video
  21. row — to paddle
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. fork — to eat with
  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