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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chest — a box
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. capital — a city
  9. track — a path
  10. capital — money
  11. track — a song
  12. track — to keep track
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. bear — the animal
  24. chest — of your body

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