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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. net — after costs
  2. snap — to click
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. dip — to sink
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pop — music
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. pop — soda
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. net — for catching
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pop — to visit
  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