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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. net — in sport
  3. bank — for money
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. clip — to cut
  7. bound — tied together
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a document
  13. bank — for money
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. clip — a video
  18. content — happy
  19. bank — of a river
  20. clip — for paper
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rush — hurry
  23. content — the amount
  24. snap — to click

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