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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  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. wound — an injury
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lean — thin
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fall — the season
  9. lean — to bend
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. ground — crushed
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — an injury
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. bat — the animal
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bear — the animal
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. ground — a position
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mouse — for a computer
  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