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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. scale — size or range
  5. suit — clothes
  6. cold — an illness
  7. band — a music group
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. craft — boats
  11. mine — for digging
  12. scale — in music
  13. craft — a skill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. suit — to fit
  17. snap — to click
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cold — not warm
  20. net — in sport
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. band — a ring
  24. craft — a handicraft

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