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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. rash — on the skin
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. ground — a position
  5. rash — a series
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. ground — crushed
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to click
  11. ground — the earth
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. degree — temperature
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stem — to come from
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. degree — from a university
  23. rash — hasty
  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