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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. club — a group
  3. ground — a position
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. net — for catching
  7. snap — to click
  8. ground — crushed
  9. rash — hasty
  10. hand — in cards
  11. club — for golf
  12. ground — the earth
  13. hand — help
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. club — for dancing
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. rash — a series
  18. net — after costs
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wake — a trail

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