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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. 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 click
  2. wake — a trail
  3. march — the month
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rest — what's left
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cap — a hat
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. rest — a break
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cap — of ice
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. march — the month
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bore — to drill
  21. march — music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. 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