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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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Word bank
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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: wake · nail · snap · stem · rash · clip · rush · cell

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — hasty
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — for paper
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rush — hurry
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. snap — to click
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. rash — a series
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. stem — to come from
  22. cell — in biology
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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