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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stem — to come from
  9. hand — help
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. cue — a hint
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pass — a permit
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. shower — rain
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cue — a signal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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