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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. snap — to click
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. tear — to rip
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. race — the arms race
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rash — a series
  12. dip — to sink
  13. race — a contest
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. row — to paddle
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. row — a line
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. race — humankind

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