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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. mate — a partner
  4. tube — the underground
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. land — ground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — a container
  9. drill — a practice
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. drill — the tool
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mate — a friend
  15. drill — army training
  16. land — to come down
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. land — a country
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stem — to come from
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pitcher — a jug

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