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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wake — a trail
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. spell — letters
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cold — an illness
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. spell — a short time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cold — not warm

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