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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bore — to drill
  11. row — a line
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bore — to tire
  14. date — the fruit
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. capital — a city
  17. tube — the underground
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. tube — a container
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. capital — money
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. row — to paddle

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