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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. last — to go on
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. kid — child
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. scale — in music
  8. last — finally
  9. content — the amount
  10. scale — size or range
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stem — to come from
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. last — final
  17. lean — to bend
  18. content — happy
  19. kid — to tease
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. lean — thin
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mouse — the animal

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