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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: dip · cue · spring · fork · rest · cell · kick · stem

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. cue — for pool
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — of water
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spring — the season
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — a signal
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kick — in football
  24. fork — in a road

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