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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. lean — to bend
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bat — the animal
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bulb — for light
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. lean — thin
  12. race — humankind
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stem — to come from
  20. race — a contest
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bulb — for light
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. race — the arms race

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