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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. last — to go on
  4. drill — army training
  5. snap — to click
  6. mark — a grade
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. last — finally
  10. court — of a king
  11. drill — a practice
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. court — for sport
  14. drill — the tool
  15. lean — thin
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. mark — a trace
  18. kick — in football
  19. lean — to bend
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. court — of law
  22. net — after costs
  23. last — final
  24. net — for catching

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