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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. kid — to tease
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. net — for catching
  8. suit — in cards
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. stem — to come from
  14. court — for sport
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. net — in sport
  17. suit — clothes
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. pound — a weight
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. kid — child
  24. suit — to fit

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