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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 120 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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  3. wake — a trail
  4. cap — a lid
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cap — of ice
  9. pitch — completely
  10. stem — to come from
  11. cap — a hat
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. snap — to click
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. mine — for digging
  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