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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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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: stem · snap · spring · lean · last · racket · chest · charge

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. snap — to click
  4. lean — thin
  5. charge — a price
  6. last — finally
  7. charge — in control
  8. last — final
  9. charge — electricity
  10. last — to go on
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spring — of water
  13. lean — to bend
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. spring — the season
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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