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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. club — for dancing
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wound — an injury
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wound — an injury
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. plane — a tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. club — for golf
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. club — a group
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. deal — to handle

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