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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 124 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. snap — to click
  4. mug — to rob
  5. bat — the animal
  6. mug — a cup
  7. stem — to come from
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. tube — a container
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mug — a face

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