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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. net — after costs
  3. track — a path
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. capital — a city
  7. sharp — clever
  8. row — a line
  9. capital — money
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. track — to keep track
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. row — to paddle
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bound — obliged
  16. track — a song
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. snap — to click
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. bound — certain

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