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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: rest · bat · present · stem · kick · snap · date · bank

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kick — in football
  3. snap — to click
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. bank — for money
  6. rest — what's left
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rest — what's left
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. present — a gift
  13. rest — a break
  14. present — the time now
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. present — there
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bank — for money
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bank — of a river
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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