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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. march — music
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. snap — to click
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. bore — to tire
  9. ground — crushed
  10. march — the month
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. march — the month
  14. bore — to drill
  15. stem — to come from
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rock — music
  18. ground — a position
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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