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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. kid — child
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. kick — in football
  13. stock — shares
  14. lean — thin
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. lean — to bend
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. stock — goods
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. fan — to cool the air

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