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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: charge · snap · bark · stem · pitcher · straw · spring · deal

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. charge — electricity
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — the season
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. deal — to handle
  20. charge — in control
  21. bark — to shout
  22. charge — a price
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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