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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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. rush — a thrill
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. snap — to click
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stem — to come from
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. rush — hurry
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  24. chest — a box

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