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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bear — the animal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. spell — magic
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. snap — to click
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bear — the animal
  23. spell — letters
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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