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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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. rash — hasty
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. stem — to come from
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. ground — a position
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rash — a series
  14. lie — to recline
  15. spring — the season
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ground — crushed
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. deal — to handle
  24. stem — of a plant

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