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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mine — for digging
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. kid — child
  23. object — to protest
  24. lash — an eyelash

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