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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — in sport
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. net — after costs
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. kick — in football
  10. wake — a trail
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. chip — for betting
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. chip — to eat
  22. degree — temperature
  23. snap — to click
  24. chip — in a computer

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