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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. rock — music
  4. snap — to click
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wind — moving air
  7. drill — a practice
  8. plane — a tool
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. rock — a stone
  16. drill — army training
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. wind — moving air
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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