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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: pound · bay · tear · cue · racket · land · stem · mate

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. land — to come down
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. cue — for pool
  7. mate — a partner
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. stem — to come from
  12. tear — to rip
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. mate — to breed
  16. land — a country
  17. cue — a signal
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. land — ground
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. pound — a weight
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mate — a friend
  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