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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. snap — to click
  3. net — for catching
  4. tube — the underground
  5. field — for sport
  6. tube — a container
  7. net — after costs
  8. field — farmland
  9. kick — in football
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. pit — in a race
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. field — a subject
  17. pit — a hole
  18. file — a line of people
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. file — a tool
  21. net — in sport
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. file — a document
  24. tube — in a tire

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