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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: cold · stem · cue · tear · roll · wave · chair · root

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. root — of a word
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cue — for pool
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cue — a signal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cue — a hint
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. roll — a cake
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. roll — a list
  22. root — the cause
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. chair — a professorship

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