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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. row — a line
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. spell — letters
  5. mate — a partner
  6. field — a subject
  7. spell — magic
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — the tool
  15. field — for sport
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spell — a short time
  19. drill — a practice
  20. mate — to breed
  21. field — farmland
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. snap — to click
  24. mate — a friend

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