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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 116 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: stem · prune · rock · cold · cue · racket · chair · straw

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stem — to come from
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cue — a signal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cue — for pool
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cold — not warm
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. rock — music
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. chair — a leader
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rock — a stone
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. cold — an illness

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