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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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468
Word bank
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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. snap — to click
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. deal — to handle
  6. degree — temperature
  7. bat — the animal
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stem — to come from
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wind — moving air
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. rock — music
  19. degree — from a university
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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