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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pound — a weight
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. tube — a container
  7. kick — in football
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. stem — to come from
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tube — the underground
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. charge — electricity
  19. charge — in control
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. charge — a price
  22. kid — child
  23. mate — to breed
  24. tube — in a tire

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