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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. march — music
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. stem — to come from
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. press — newspapers
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — to bend
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. lean — thin
  16. march — the month
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. press — to push
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bat — for baseball

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