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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. rest — what's left
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fall — the season
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bat — the animal
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rest — a break
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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