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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 120 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: bear · wake · tube · stem · bat · cue · row · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cue — a signal
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. row — a line
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cue — a hint
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. row — to paddle
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — the animal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bear — the animal

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