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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. game — wild animals
  3. net — after costs
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stem — to come from
  6. game — a match
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bank — of a river
  9. snap — to click
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bank — for money
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cue — a signal
  17. hand — help
  18. net — for catching
  19. hand — in cards
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. bank — for money
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. net — in sport
  24. cue — for pool

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