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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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 — for catching
  3. pop — music
  4. net — in sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spell — magic
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. spell — letters
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. net — after costs
  11. perch — the fish
  12. ground — the earth
  13. snap — to click
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — soda
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spell — a short time
  19. saw — the tool
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — a position

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