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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. squash — the sport
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. fall — to drop
  5. kid — to tease
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fall — the season
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. snap — to click
  12. kid — child
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. squash — to crush
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mark — a grade
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. fall — to drop
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. mark — a trace

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