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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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. stem — of a plant
  3. spring — a coil
  4. field — a subject
  5. stem — to come from
  6. snap — to click
  7. rash — a series
  8. field — farmland
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. field — for sport
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. spring — the season
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. mark — a grade
  23. mark — a trace
  24. spring — of water

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