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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 116 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. can — a tin
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. dip — to sink
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. can — to be able to
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kick — in football
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. can — a tin
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. march — the month
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — music

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