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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. hand — in cards
  5. object — a thing
  6. land — ground
  7. can — to be able to
  8. stem — to come from
  9. land — a country
  10. kid — to tease
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kid — child
  14. object — to protest
  15. snap — to click
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. can — a tin
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. object — an aim
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. can — a tin
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. land — to come down

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