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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. land — to come down
  3. craft — a skill
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. land — ground
  6. lean — to bend
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. snap — to click
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. stem — to come from
  13. mark — a trace
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. land — a country
  16. lean — thin
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. cue — a hint
  19. craft — boats
  20. cue — a signal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cue — for pool
  23. mark — a grade
  24. kid — child

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