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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · season · bat · stand · snap · fall · stem · bay

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. season — of the year
  3. snap — to click
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stand — to bear
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. bat — the animal
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. season — in sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. fall — the season

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