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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. lean — to bend
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rash — hasty
  6. snap — to click
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. race — humankind
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rash — a series
  18. file — a line of people
  19. stem — to come from
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. cell — a phone

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