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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — after costs
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. root — of a word
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pitch — completely
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bank — for money
  14. court — of law
  15. net — for catching
  16. court — for sport
  17. bank — for money
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. root — of a plant
  20. root — the cause
  21. court — of a king
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. bank — of a river

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