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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pound — a weight
  4. fall — to drop
  5. land — ground
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. lean — thin
  9. land — to come down
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. sharp — clever
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. land — a country
  17. fall — the season
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fall — to drop
  22. lean — to bend
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. pound — for dogs

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