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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 116 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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stem — to come from
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. mug — a cup
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. field — a subject
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. snap — to click
  14. hand — help
  15. field — for sport
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. content — the amount
  18. mug — to rob
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. hand — in cards
  21. content — happy
  22. mug — a face
  23. field — farmland
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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