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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. tube — the underground
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hand — in cards
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. vault — a safe
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. kid — child
  20. sharp — clever
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. snap — to click
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. tube — a container

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