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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: bore · hand · rest · stem · cap · spell · snap · key

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. spell — letters
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rest — what's left
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spell — magic
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bore — to drill
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. key — in music
  12. snap — to click
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spell — a short time
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. key — for a lock
  23. hand — help
  24. stem — a stem cell

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