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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. current — happening now
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. field — a subject
  5. net — in sport
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — electric
  9. prune — to trim
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. current — of water
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bound — tied together
  20. net — after costs
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — obliged
  23. prune — to trim
  24. nail — for a hammer

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