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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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 snap out of it
  2. spell — a short time
  3. net — for catching
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. root — the cause
  6. suit — in cards
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. spell — magic
  9. row — a line
  10. net — after costs
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. root — of a plant
  13. suit — clothes
  14. spell — letters
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. suit — to fit
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. root — of a word
  19. row — to paddle
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to click
  22. net — in sport
  23. fork — in a road
  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