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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: stem · cue · wound · row · wind · lash · field · present

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. cue — for pool
  4. wound — an injury
  5. field — for sport
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. stem — to come from
  9. present — a gift
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cue — a signal
  15. row — to paddle
  16. row — a line
  17. wind — moving air
  18. field — a subject
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. present — there
  22. field — farmland
  23. wound — an injury
  24. present — the time now

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