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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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. can — a tin
  3. net — after costs
  4. can — a tin
  5. net — in sport
  6. march — the month
  7. bank — for money
  8. snap — to click
  9. net — for catching
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. march — the month
  15. bank — for money
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. march — music
  18. bank — of a river
  19. pop — soda
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pop — music
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pop — to visit

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