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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: file · tear · bat · rock · coach · cue · season · stem

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. file — a document
  5. cue — a signal
  6. rock — music
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bat — the animal
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stem — to come from
  12. season — in sport
  13. tear — from crying
  14. season — of the year
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. rock — a stone
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. cue — for pool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. file — a tool
  24. tear — from crying

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