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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. key — the most important part
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. key — in music
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. shower — rain
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. key — for a lock

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