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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. snap — to click
  3. drill — army training
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. rock — a stone
  7. stem — to come from
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rock — music
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. saw — the tool
  13. drill — a practice
  14. saw — the tool
  15. drill — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rock — to move gently

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