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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. shower — rain
  3. snap — to click
  4. shower — to wash
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. net — for catching
  7. suit — to fit
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. bank — for money
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bank — for money
  13. stem — to come from
  14. net — in sport
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — in cards
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. bank — of a river
  21. wake — a trail
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. march — the month

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