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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. snap — to click
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — in a road
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. bass — the fish
  16. wound — an injury
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. stem — a stem cell

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