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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. net — after costs
  5. stock — goods
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. present — the time now
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. pitch — completely
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. net — for catching
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stock — shares
  18. stem — to come from
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. net — in sport
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. foot — a measure
  23. present — there
  24. present — a gift

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