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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. temple — side of the head
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. kid — child
  9. wake — a trail
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. snap — to click
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. stem — to come from
  15. net — in sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. fork — in a road
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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