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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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 click
  2. fine — all right
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. fork — in a road
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fine — high quality
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fall — the season
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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