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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. last — finally
  4. row — to paddle
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. row — a line
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. last — to go on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. stem — to come from
  13. last — final
  14. kick — in football
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. chest — of your body
  22. snap — to click
  23. chest — a box
  24. mouse — the animal

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