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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bound — certain
  4. land — to come down
  5. press — to push
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wake — a trail
  13. race — humankind
  14. cap — a lid
  15. land — ground
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. race — a contest
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. land — a country
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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