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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. chest — of your body
  4. sharp — clever
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. net — in sport
  11. hand — in cards
  12. firm — steady
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. capital — a city
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. net — after costs
  17. firm — decided
  18. chest — a box
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. capital — money
  21. snap — to click
  22. firm — a company
  23. hand — help
  24. trunk — of a car

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