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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 116 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. march — music
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. march — the month
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. swing — music
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. stem — to come from
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — in golf
  12. content — happy
  13. kick — in football
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. swing — to play on
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. stem — a stem cell

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