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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 124 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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. season — to add flavour
  3. pop — soda
  4. season — in sport
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pop — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. snap — to click
  12. last — to go on
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. last — final
  16. pop — to visit
  17. season — of the year
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stem — to come from
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. last — finally
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. stem — a stem cell

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