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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. ground — a position
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. snap — to click
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. stem — to come from
  8. rule — government
  9. rule — a law
  10. ground — crushed
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bat — the animal
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. dip — to sink
  24. ground — the earth

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