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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. snap — to click
  4. rock — a stone
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — to crush
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. rash — hasty
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. rash — a series
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mark — a grade
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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