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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 120 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. net — in sport
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. net — after costs
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mug — to rob
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. mug — a face
  13. net — for catching
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. mug — a cup
  17. saw — the tool
  18. straw — a straw man

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