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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bank — for money
  3. net — after costs
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. spell — letters
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. spell — magic
  10. net — for catching
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. spell — a short time
  14. net — in sport
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. arm — part of the body

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