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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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. snap — to click
  3. net — after costs
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mate — to breed
  7. roll — a cake
  8. mate — a friend
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. shower — rain
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. prune — to trim
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. mate — a partner
  16. kick — in football
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. roll — a list
  19. net — in sport
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. shower — to wash
  24. net — for catching

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