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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: squash · field · file · chip · present · row · cue · stem

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. field — farmland
  3. stem — to come from
  4. squash — the sport
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. row — a line
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chip — to eat
  9. cue — for pool
  10. row — to paddle
  11. present — there
  12. cue — a hint
  13. file — a document
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. present — a gift
  16. squash — to crush
  17. field — for sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. field — a subject
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. present — the time now
  24. squash — the vegetable

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