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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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. swing — to play on
  4. game — a match
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. squash — the sport
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. craft — boats
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. craft — a skill
  12. degree — temperature
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. swing — music
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. swing — in golf
  20. degree — from a university
  21. rush — hurry
  22. squash — to crush
  23. degree — an amount
  24. rush — a thrill

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