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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spring — the season
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. tube — the underground
  9. season — in sport
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. season — of the year
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mark — a grade
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — a coil
  18. mark — a trace
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. snap — to click
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tube — a container
  24. arm — part of the body

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