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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mug — a face
  4. season — of the year
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stem — to come from
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. snap — to click
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. cell — a phone
  16. mug — to rob
  17. plane — a tool
  18. cell — in biology
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. mug — a cup
  22. chair — a leader
  23. season — in sport
  24. stem — of a plant

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