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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 120 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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. court — for sport
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. current — of water
  10. current — happening now
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. current — electric
  13. pound — a weight
  14. rash — a series
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. rash — hasty
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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