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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: cue · bat · coach · plane · kick · court · stem · race

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. race — a contest
  3. cue — a signal
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. kick — in football
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. court — of law
  17. court — of a king
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. court — for sport
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stem — of a plant

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