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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. sharp — clever
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spell — letters
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. face — to point toward
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wake — a trail
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. face — part of the head
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. tear — from crying
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. face — to confront
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. tear — to rip

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