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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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 click
  3. capital — a city
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. tube — a container
  9. cold — an illness
  10. stem — to come from
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. capital — money
  14. suit — in cards
  15. club — for golf
  16. cold — not warm
  17. suit — clothes
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — for dancing
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. club — a group
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. suit — to fit

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