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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. perch — the fish
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bore — to drill
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. face — to point toward
  10. sharp — clever
  11. shower — to wash
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. stem — to come from
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. bore — to tire
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. shower — rain
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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