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

Word bank: stem · pop · kick · present · content · tear · snap · sharp

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. pop — music
  4. present — a gift
  5. snap — to click
  6. stem — to come from
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. pop — soda
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. content — happy
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — the amount
  20. present — there
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pop — to visit
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kick — in football

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