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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. sharp — clever
  6. last — finally
  7. press — a publisher
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. last — to go on
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. race — a contest
  15. press — newspapers
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. press — to push
  22. lean — to bend
  23. last — final
  24. lean — thin

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