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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. chest — a box
  4. mine — for digging
  5. stem — to come from
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — high quality
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. fine — all right
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wound — an injury
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lie — to recline
  23. snap — to click
  24. wound — an injury

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