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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: cue · stem · chair · rash · fall · kick · bear · clip

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kick — in football
  3. cue — a hint
  4. clip — for paper
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. rash — a series
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cue — a signal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bear — the animal
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cue — for pool
  19. fall — the season
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — to cut
  22. chair — a leader
  23. stem — to come from
  24. clip — a video

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