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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. shower — rain
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. fine — all right
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. snap — to click
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fine — high quality
  20. wound — an injury
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. shower — to wash
  24. stem — to come from

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