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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. snap — to click
  3. bark — to shout
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a list
  9. rash — hasty
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. kick — in football
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. roll — a cake
  18. rash — a series
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. prune — the fruit

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