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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. chest — a box
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. net — after costs
  7. wind — moving air
  8. net — in sport
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. present — there
  11. present — a gift
  12. rash — a series
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. can — a tin
  16. snap — to click
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. chest — of your body
  20. last — final
  21. wind — moving air
  22. net — for catching
  23. present — the time now
  24. can — a tin

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