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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cap — a hat
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — the animal
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pit — in a race
  9. current — of water
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pit — a hole
  12. current — electric
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. current — happening now
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. patient — a sick person

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