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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. ground — crushed
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wake — a trail
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. snap — to click
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — size or range
  17. spring — the season
  18. scale — in music
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. ground — a position
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. spring — of water
  24. saw — the tool

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