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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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. rush — to hurry
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pop — to visit
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. capital — money
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. club — for dancing
  14. capital — a city
  15. snap — to click
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. degree — an amount
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pop — music
  20. club — a group
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pop — soda
  23. club — for golf
  24. degree — from a university

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