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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. net — for catching
  3. snap — to click
  4. rash — a series
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. last — to go on
  7. net — in sport
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. net — after costs
  10. last — finally
  11. spring — the season
  12. last — final
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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