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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. snap — to click
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. staff — a stick
  5. march — music
  6. staff — employees
  7. content — the amount
  8. spell — magic
  9. rash — hasty
  10. net — in sport
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — employees
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. march — the month
  16. net — after costs
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. rash — a series
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. spell — letters
  24. fan — to cool the air

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