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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. bank — for money
  5. mate — to breed
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bank — of a river
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spell — a short time
  10. snap — to click
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. mate — a partner
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a line
  15. mate — a friend
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spell — letters
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bank — for money
  23. spell — magic
  24. stem — a stem cell

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