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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. squash — the sport
  3. root — of a word
  4. bank — for money
  5. mark — a grade
  6. net — in sport
  7. bank — for money
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. net — after costs
  10. cap — of ice
  11. net — for catching
  12. root — the cause
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cap — a lid
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bank — of a river
  18. root — of a plant
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. mark — a trace
  21. stem — to come from
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cap — a hat

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