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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. track — to keep track
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bat — the animal
  8. track — a song
  9. lean — to bend
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. content — happy
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — a trail
  15. lean — thin
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. track — a path
  19. net — in sport
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. stem — to come from

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