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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. net — for catching
  11. wound — an injury
  12. saw — the tool
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. net — after costs
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. net — in sport

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