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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. bat — the animal
  4. mark — a grade
  5. snap — to click
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wound — an injury
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — of your body
  14. lean — to bend
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. chest — a box
  17. mark — a trace
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. lean — thin
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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