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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: cold · pass · snap · cell · dip · perch · stem · lean

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cold — an illness
  4. dip — to sink
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lean — thin
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. lean — to bend
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. perch — the fish
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. snap — to click
  24. cold — not warm

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