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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. net — after costs
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. clip — to cut
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. snap — to click
  10. board — to get on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. clip — for paper
  13. board — a committee
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. pop — music
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. clip — a video
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. net — in sport
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. net — for catching
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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