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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. net — after costs
  9. pass — a permit
  10. net — for catching
  11. mine — for digging
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. chest — a box
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — of your body
  17. deal — to handle
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. hand — help
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. ball — a dance
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. pass — to spend time

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