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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. snap — to click
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. last — to go on
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pop — soda
  23. hand — in cards
  24. pop — 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