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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. net — for catching
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. net — in sport
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. band — a music group
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — for digging
  13. rest — a break
  14. band — a ring
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. vault — a safe
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. rest — what's left
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. net — after costs
  24. mine — belonging to me

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