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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. net — after costs
  3. board — to get on
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. swing — music
  6. land — to come down
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. rule — government
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. drill — the tool
  12. net — for catching
  13. drill — army training
  14. swing — in golf
  15. land — ground
  16. drill — a practice
  17. net — in sport
  18. swing — to play on
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. board — a committee
  21. snap — to click
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. land — a country

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